


A Sleep Like Death

by Mayoki



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Coma, Fever, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Sort of character death kind of a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-18 01:08:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 37,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3550442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayoki/pseuds/Mayoki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Stella Nox Fleuret of Tenebrae visits Lucis she sets into motion the wheels of fate that grant Noctis the ability to see the light of the dead.</p><p>Ten year old Noctis, mourning the recent loss of his mother, must first undergo a trial from the goddess Etro. He falls into a sleep like death, and not a single healer in the kingdom can wake him. As Stella warned he will only wake up when the Goddess allows him to. She should know; she went through the same thing.</p><p>Comatose, and with his body failing him, Noctis's friends and family can only watch and pray that he comes back to them. And if he does, will he be the same as before?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Past

**Author's Note:**

> My take on the "childhood incident" that led Noctis to be able to see the light.
> 
> Once the game comes out this will be completely rubbish, but until then I'm taking artistic liberties to write it how I think it could possibly occur!

'We wouldn't technically be going outside the city limits,' Gladiolus pointed out.

'Close enough,' Ignis said with a huff. 'If King Regis found out-'

That interested Noctis. The young boy looked up with a smirk. 'We have to do it.'

'Prince,' Ignis began, feeling a headache building. 'You'll get to see them anyway, when they come to the palace. Why do you want to go now?'

'We can spy on them,' Noctis pointed out, warming to the idea as it became more dangerous and daring. 'We can pretend to be normal kids and sneak around their camp and get intel.'

Gladiolus grinned and nodded. 'Yeah, sounds good to me. And if they sound like they're going to try and murder the king or anything we can take them down!' He slashed his training sword down hard so that it bounced off the concrete.

Ignis adjusted his glasses, and turned to Prompto. 'I'm going to assume you won't take my side?'

'Nope,' Prompto said. 'Their plan sounds way more fun than sitting around here studying.'

'You will need to do your maths homework at some point,' Ignis pointed out. 'Why not now while I'm here to help you?'

'Because foreign royalty is coming?' Prompto said. 'Way more fun sneaking around their camp and causing trouble.'

'Come on, Ignis,' Noctis said, nudging his friend with his elbow. 'You coming?'

'No, I'm going to stay here and not get myself into trouble, thank you very much.'

Another nudge from Noctis. 'But then who'll keep us under control? And fix things when we screw up?'

'I'm not your mo-' Ignis caught himself, but he saw the flash of sadness pass over Noctis's eyes. The queen had passed away not even a month ago, and the wounds were still fresh. Feeling terrible for the reminder, Ignis nudged Noctis back and relented. 'Fine. Let's go and intrude on the privacy of our guests from Tenebrae.'

'Yay!' Prompto said. 'Death and destruction.'

'No death _or_ destruction,' Ignis called, but Prompto had already hurried ahead with Gladiolus.

In the wake of the death of the queen of Lucis, Tenebrae had sent representatives to offer official condolences to the king and prince. It had been planned for weeks, and now the queen and prince of Tenebrae, along with several wealthy and influential families, had just arrived at the gates. It was a slight that the king himself hadn't attended, and Noctis knew his father had been muttering to his advisors about it. Noctis didn't care; he didn't like the king of Tenebrae anyway. As far as he was concerned the king could go to hell. He hated all these people coming to him and apologising for his mother's death, and assuming that they knew how he was feeling and that it would be alright in the end. How did they know it would be alright? How could they be sure? The only people that hadn't patronised him like that were his three best friends, who had simply acknowledged that it sucked, held him while he'd cried, then distracted him as best they could to keep his mind from dwelling on what had happened.

There were about thirty people in the royal caravan, and officials were talking hurriedly with the kingdom guards. The four boys sneaked quietly into the open courtyard where several cars had parked and people had got out to stretch their legs.

'So many suits,' Prompto said with a snicker of laughter. He nudged a bony elbow into Noctis's ribs. 'Hey, that'll be you one day. You'll look as grumpy as they are when you're king and you won't be allowed to wear what you want anymore, you'll have to look like a penguin every day of your life.'

'If I'm king then nobody can tell me how to dress,' Noctis pointed out. 'I'll do what I want.'

They stepped back when another car door opened, and a tall, beautiful woman stepped out. She rose gracefully, her blue eyes scanning the area until she noticed a man hurrying about. She snapped her fingers and he hurried over.

'What's taking so long?' she demanded in a shrill voice.

'Nothing to worry about, Lady Fleuret. You know how paranoid these Lucians are now that they have the last crystal. So many checks, it's taking a while I'm afraid. There's a hotel adjourning the gates if you'd like to freshen up, or have a cup of tea perhaps?'

She sighed dramatically. 'Well, I'm certainly not going to sit in the car for however long. Come, Stella.' She clicked her fingers again, and let herself be led off by the man.

Out of the car came a miniature version of the woman; a small girl with the same blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a replica of her mother's white lacy dress. She got out carefully so as not to scuff her shoes, then glanced up. And caught Noctis's eye.

Noctis had been watching her, and felt like a deer caught in headlights when she stared back. 'Uh, hi?' he said.

She smiled. 'Hello.'

Noctis shifted uncomfortably, aware that his three friends were watching and probably laughing at his awkwardness. He was a shy boy around anyone but them, and this girl was so calm and composed. 'Think your mother wanted you to go.'

She nodded. 'I think so too. I recognise you, you're the prince, aren't you?'

'Well there goes our cover. Seriously Noct, we can't take you anywhere ,' Prompto said, rolling his eyes and slapping a hand on Noctis's shoulder. In one swift motion he pushed his friend back a little and stepped forward, putting on his best, most charming smile. 'And I'm the prince's best friend. Prompto Argentum, at your service.'

Her eyes fell to the gun badly concealed at his hip, far too large for his lanky boyish frame. 'I thought firearms were illegal here?'

Prompto smirked and touched his fingers to the handle. 'What can I say? I'm a rebel.'

'I see,' she said politely, then ignored him for Noctis. 'I wanted to meet you, there's something we need to talk about.'

Noctis blinked, and stepped back a little unconsciously. 'We do? I don't even know who you are.'

'Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Stella Nox Fleuret, my family are advisors to the royal family of Tenebrae.' She stepped forward and since Gladiolus was behind him there was nowhere further for Noctis to retreat. She lowered her voice. 'I need to talk to you about the _light_.'

'The…light?' Noctis said slowly.

She nodded frantically. 'Yes, and it has to be soon.'

'Stella! Come along,' her mother called sharply.

Stella frowned and shook her head. 'We can't talk about it here, but once I'm in the palace we'll have a chance to talk properly.'

'What light? What are you talking about?' Noctis asked.

Her eyes widened briefly. 'The light. You know?'

'Not a clue,' Noctis said harshly.

'But I saw you in my dream…' Disappointment laced her voice, but she shook her head. 'It was definitely you. Definitely.' She raised her hand to touch his cheek. 'Definitely.'

As soon as her fingers touched his skin Noctis felt it. It was like an electrical current passing through his body, and suddenly he could see images before his eyes. And a warm golden light that covered everything.

When he woke up he was on the floor, with his head in Gladiolus's lap. All of his friends were crowded around him, along with Stella, her mother and a few other people. Suddenly Noctis felt claustrophobic. He struggled to sit up, and people began backing off.

'What happened?' he asked, his heart was racing a mile a minute.

Ignis placed an arm around his shoulders to support him and frowned. 'I'm not sure. You went white as a sheet and then you fainted. How are you feeling?'

'Fine, I'm fine,' Noctis said, waving off the concern as he got to his feet again, cheeks blazing crimson at having fainted in front of so many people. His gaze sought out Stella, but he saw her disappearing with her hand in her mother's. She turned back to him as if sensing he was watching her, and she nodded once.

'What's going on?' Gladiolus asked. 'That was weird.'

'Not weird at all,' Prompto said. 'Noct is rubbish with girls, so the second she got close to him he freaked out and fainted.'

'I did not!' Noctis said, all thoughts of Stella suddenly vanishing as his friends started teasing him.

-

Noctis stood in front of his full length ornate mirror. He was wearing what was supposed to be a slim fitting black suit but it still hung off his boyish wiry frame, a black shirt and shoes, with his black tie hung loose around his neck. At least in an all black ensemble he didn't resemble a penguin like Prompto had warned him about. The Caelum family were famous for wearing all black, their kingdom was one shrouded in darkness and mystery. Even more so since the death of its queen.

Ignis appeared in the mirror behind him, and placed a hand on his shoulder to turn him around. While only a couple of years older, his friend had already had a growth spurt and bent slightly as he reached to fix Noctis's tie. 'Are you well, my prince?'

When he'd studied his reflection he looked paler than normal, but that could have been nerves. There would be a lot of people looking at him tonight, offering their condolences and dragging up memories of his mother. Noctis's stomach knotted up just thinking about it. 'Yeah.'

Pausing in tying the knot, Ignis glanced into his eyes. Then pulled the tie tight. 'It's alright if you don't. I know I wouldn't want to go through this. All the other kingdoms have already paid their respects, this should have been over and done with long before the funeral.'

'Well it's not, and I can't change that,' Noctis said.

'It's a great insult from Tenebrae,' Ignis continued. 'You understand that? From what I can gather by waiting until after the funeral they'd dealt our kingdom a blow. The advisors have all been in the audience chamber each night with the doors closed, but I heard they're talking of switching trade suppliers, which would mean Tenebrae would respond with something even worse, and then it would escalate.'

Noctis shrugged. 'Why does it matter?'

'It matters because eventually the insults become so great that war is declared.'

'You worry too much,' Noctis said.

'And you not enough,' Ignis said, squeezing his narrow shoulder gently. 'Just be careful, Noct. Tonight isn't about Tenebrae paying respects, it's a chess game. A political minefield.'

'I don't like chess, and I don't like it when people don't just say what they think. I hate all these mind games and back stabbing.'

'I know,' Ignis said. Which was exactly why Ignis was studying so hard, to ensure that as Noctis grew up and was drawn deeper into the web of politics he'd be there to ensure Noctis stayed one step ahead. 'Just stick with Gladiolus and myself tonight. We'll get you through this.'

Noctis nodded, not caring about plots in the least. He was still mourning his mother, and tonight was another reminder that the second throne in the audience chamber was cold and empty, and that he could no longer jump on his parents bed on a Sunday morning and be embraced by both parents. It felt as if he'd suddenly be forced to grow up very quickly, and he wasn't ready for it all.

There was a knock on the bedroom door, and then the large wooden door swung open. Gladiolus walked in, looking much neater than usual in a black suit of his own, and his dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Ignis nodded his approval. He himself was wearing a black suit befitting of Lucis royal staff, but a deep plum shirt collar peeked out above the lapels. His hair had been gelled to perfection and his angular face was accented by his slim glasses.

Gladiolus crossed the large bedroom and his gaze travelled down Noctis. He grinned. 'I thought you said you'd grow into the suit?'

'I'm working on it,' Noctis said hotly.

'Think you need to work a bit harder, shorty,' Gladiolus said, making to ruffle Noctis's hair, but Ignis grabbed his wrist.

'We don't have time to tidy him up again, we're running late as it is.' Ignis straightened Noctis's tie and adjusted his hair; an impossible task as Noctis's bangs were all over the place as per usual. It made him look adorable, but tonight he needed to look older than his ten years.

As Noctis left his bedroom his friends flanked him either side, as they'd been trained to do. They simultaneously watched Noctis while looking out for any potential threats or hazards. They'd been doing it for so long it came naturally now, so much so that when they were approached as they descended a staircase toward the ball room Gladiolus moved in front of Noctis to act as a shield.

'Evening,' he said gruffly to the stranger.

'My apologies. I'm with the Tenebrae group.' The man bowed low. 'I was wondering if I could borrow the prince for a moment? There's a girl who would very much like to speak with him.'

Stella, Noctis thought instantly. And a vision of the golden light he had seen before appeared in front of his eyes. He felt weak, and almost stumbled had it not been for Ignis's hand on his shoulder to steady him.

Gladiolus had noticed the trip, though, and frowned. 'I'm sorry, we have to meet with the king first. Introductions will be officially made once the festivities begin.'

The man bowed again. 'Of course. Thank you.'

As soon as they were out of ear shot Ignis guided Noctis to the side. 'Are you alright? What was that?'

Noctis shook his head. 'I don't know. I just felt…like this morning, when I fainted.'

Ignis's eyes searched his. 'Would you prefer to return to your room and get some rest? We can tell your father that you're ill.'

'No. He'll just think it's because of my mother.'

Gladiolus regarded him with a look of sympathy. 'Is it? Maybe you're worried about tonight, and talking to all these people about the queen? It could be anxiety related?'

'Like panic attacks,' Ignis muttered, and exchanged a quick glance with Gladiolus. The two knew full well how shy the prince could be at times, and after the stress of losing his mother it wouldn't have been beyond the realms of possibility.

But it angered Noctis, and he pulled away from Ignis. 'It's not in my head, I really felt dizzy.'

'I know, my prince,' Ignis soothed. 'But anxiety-'

'I'm not anxious!' Noctis snapped, then remembered himself. 'Sorry, but I just…can we just go in there and get this over with?'

Ignis swallowed hard, but nodded. Now more than ever he wished he could take Noctis back to his room rather than having to parade him in front of a foreign kingdom, but the prince was already making his way toward the ball room so he and Gladiolus had to hurry and fall into step beside him.

The ball room had been decorated with the purple and gold of Tenebrae, in honour of their guests. Long tables had been set out and the gold and purple of Tenebrae lords and ladies mixed with the silver and black of Lucis. There weren't many from Tenebrae, and even Noctis could see that for the insult it was. Especially since the king was missing. Lucis's king sat on his throne raised on a dais at the head of the ballroom. His personal guard Cor Leonis stood to the right of his throne, and his advisor the left, whispering something into the king's ear. King Regis looked unhappy, but then he always did these days, Noctis mused.

'Shall we go and present to your father?' Ignis suggested.

'No, he'll see me down here,' Noctis said, wandering over to the tables where food and drink had been laid out. His small hand went for one of the glasses of bubbling gold champagne, and he'd brought it halfway to his lips before Ignis plucked it from his grasp and set it back on the table.

'You're being particularly difficult tonight,' Ignis warned in a low voice.

'Nobody cares,' Noctis pointed out, but lots of people had noticed the small prince enter, and it was like vultures circling, each one ready to pounce on him and ask him questions.

Gladiolus picked up a glass of beer. 'Prom would love this,' he said. 'Free alcohol, ready to be drunk by minors.'

Ignis took the glass from him, too. 'Bodyguards, even those in training, should stay sober and alert. I'm quite certain that Prompto is more than capable of acquiring his own alcohol.'

'He is, we shared a can of cider last Saturday night,' Noctis said, taking delight in the way Ignis's eyes widened at the revelation.

'P-prince!' Ignis said.

But Noctis was already gone. The food didn't interest him, all day he'd felt a strange sense of nausea, and a complete loss of appetite. Instead he passed by people, ignoring them as they called his name or asked him questions. Until the man from the corridor grabbed his arm and dragged him aside.

'This way, please. It won't take long,' the man said hurriedly.

'What? No! Let go,' Noctis said, pulling back. But he wasn't strong enough to compete with a grown up, so he had to either hurry to keep up or fall and be dragged. Desperately he looked back, but the crowd was thick there, and he only caught a glimpse of Gladiolus once and saw the young man was looking about frantically, having realised he'd lost the prince.

'Just through here,' the man said, and suddenly they were outside.

The cool evening air chilled him, and Noctis shivered as he was led into a small courtyard with neat flower beds and a bridge over a koi pond. The bridge had a lattice roof, with sweet peas winding around the wooden beams mingled with little white fairy lights. The blonde girl he had spoken to earlier was on the bridge, looking down into the water. Noctis was nudged in her direction.

'Please, talk to her,' the man said.

Well, there wasn't any harm in that, he supposed. Slowly Noctis made his way over, keeping his distance as best as he could. She didn't look up when he approached. He cleared his throat. 'So, uh, hi again. I guess.'

'Hello, Prince Noctis,' she said in her soft voice, still watching the fish. 'I'm sorry about your mother.'

Noctis snorted. 'Yeah, you and the rest of the world. When a normal person loses their mother they're allowed to mourn in private, I've been splashed in the news for weeks.'

Now she looked up, and regarded him with bright blue eyes that shone in the darkness. 'You wish we weren't here.'

'N-no, I didn't say that,' Noctis amended quickly, thinking of the political storm he could cause. At least he assumed that had been what Ignis kept drilling into him. 'It's very nice of your kingdom to pay their respects but I-'

'Want to mourn in private, as you said.'

'Yeah. No. I don't know,' Noctis said, leaning against the railing and staring out across the pond. The silver moonlight reflected off the dark surface.

'You're confused,' she said.

'Figured that out, huh?' Noctis said. 'I don't know how I'm supposed to act, or what I'm supposed to do. My father won't talk to me, so how am I supposed to know what he's got planned for me? I'm not a kid anymore, I need to know what my place is in this family. In the kingdom. What do they expect from me?' He had no idea why this was all coming out. These were fears he'd never shared with his friends. Not Ignis who could give him a logical explanation, or Gladiolus who could offer him a distracting sparring session to clear his head. Or Prompto who'd supply him with booze that made his head feel fuzzy but made things easier to bear.

'I know why you feel this way,' Stella said softly. 'Because I felt that way too, before the light.'

'Ah yes, the light,' Noctis said sarcastically. 'Look I'm really sorry, but I think you've got me mistaken for someone else. If you saw me in a dream, well, I'm sorry but I can't help that. I don't see any light.'

'No, you don't. I understand that now,' she said, watching him carefully. 'Which is why you're so confused and emotional. Once you see the light, things will be clearer.'

'What light? What are you even talking about?' Noctis asked, backing up a step as Stella moved toward him with her hand raised. 'Look, I think I need to get back inside now. It's cold and my friends are looking for me and I haven't presented myself to my father yet, so I really should-'

'Shh,' she said softly, and cupped his cheek with her hand.

His gaze was locked in hers and it felt as if he couldn't move. She had enchanted him, that had to be it. Noctis was terrified, even more so when the golden light he had seen flashes of earlier returned, clouding his vision. The wave of dizziness returned with it, and he felt his legs go weak as he collapsed against the railings. His hearing cut out, all he could hear was a strange buzzing sound. And his vision greyed at the edges, until there was nothing but the golden light, speckled with flecks of gold swirling around. He reached out a hand to touch it, but it didn't feel of anything. It was like smoke.

'-tis! Noctis!' called a voice, and someone was tapping his cheek.

When Noctis finally came to he was being cradled in his father's arms, and a group of worried men in black were crowding around him. He groaned, this was far too much like this morning for comfort. He wearily blinked his heavy eyes up at his father, who was looking down at him with terrified eyes.

'What happened?' Regis asked, his voice trembling. 'I thought…god don't to that, Noct. I can't lose you too. Not after…' Regis pulled him tight to his chest. 'Are you alright, son?'

'I'm fine.'

'What happened?' Cor asked, crouching down beside them and supporting his head with a huge hand.

'I don't know,' Noctis said, frowning. His memories were fuzzy. 'She was there, and then there was light, then darkness.' His head was still swimming, and though he was shivering violently he felt hot inside. 'I don't feel very well.'

That got Regis's attention. 'Cor, please take him back to his room and find a healer. Don't leave his side. Send somebody to update me every half an hour.' He turned back to his son. 'I wish I could be with you, but I have to sit through this damned farce of a party. As soon as it's over I'll come and see you, alright?'

'Okay,' Noctis said weakly, and then he was transferred from the warm arms of his father into Cor's strong arms. The bodyguard lifted him up as if he weighed nothing at all, then carried him around the outside of the building so as not to have to carry the prince of Lucis through a crowded ball room filled with prying eyes. Behind them Ignis and Gladiolus hurried to keep up.

Noctis's bedroom was huge, and despite being only a small boy of ten he had a large king size four poster bed. When Cor placed him down on it he paused to frown at just how small the prince of Lucis still was. Gruffly he ran a calloused hand through Noctis's unruly hair.

'You okay to get changed?'

Noctis nodded. 'Yeah, thanks.'

Cor nodded, and backed up a step. 'I'll go get the healer. I expect to see you tucked up in bed when I get back.'

'Yes sir,' Noctis said, not even looking up to watch the man leave.

Ignis went to a set of drawers and brought out a fresh pair of black pyjamas, which he brought over to Noctis. 'Do you want any help?'

'I'm fine,' Noctis insisted, shuffling off the bed and undressing himself.

Ignis and Gladiolus turned away while he did so, and only turned back once they heard him climbing back onto the bed. He looked younger than his years, dwarfed by the huge bed, wearing too-big pyjamas with his hair dishevelled and his face pale. Ignis went about picking up the discarded clothes and placing them in the hamper, then he and Gladiolus sat either side of the bed, watching their friend closely.

'It's not anxiety,' Noctis insisted finally, but there was no force to his words.

'Don't worry, your highness,' Gladiolus said. 'Whatever's wrong the healer will fix it.'

Noctis drew his knees up to his chin, and hugged them tight. 'I don't know what's happening to me anymore. I feel so lost and alone.'

'You're never alone,' Ignis said.

Then as if on command both he and Gladiolus slid up the bed and wrapped the younger boy up in a hug. They sat there for a while, rocking the dark haired boy back gently back and forth until the door opened again and Cor returned with a small, dumpy woman in white healers robes. She ushered them off the bed, then began checking over Noctis, lifting his shirt to reveal pale ribs, and clucking at how thin he was, and was he getting enough to eat? And the scars on his body from training, were they pushing him too hard?

Cor just stood with his arms folded like he was a statue, and Gladiolus tried to mimic him. Ignis, however, was taking note of everything the woman was saying. Healing knowledge would always come in handy, if he wanted to be a good advisor for Noctis. There was still so much to learn. He noted the way she stuck the thermometer under Noctis's tongue, and how she warmed the stethoscope before pressing it to his chest and back.

'How did you feel before you blacked out?' she asked.

'Dizzy. Hot. Sick,' Noctis said, trying to remember. It had all taken a backseat when he'd seen that beautiful light.

'And now? How do you feel now?'

'Dizzy, hot and sick,' Noctis said. 'But not as much.'

'Hmm,' she turned to Cor. 'He has a low fever. I'd recommend an antipyretic to reduce his temperature, and to see how he is in the morning.'

Cor nodded and accepted the bottle of medicine she handed him from her bag, then the woman took her leave and Cor sat down on the side of the bed, looking at the bottle cautiously. He'd never had children, had never had to administer this kind of thing before. It took a bit of work to unscrew the cap, then he read the instructions twice before looking at Noctis curiously. 'It says under eight years to have one spoonful, but you're small for your age…eh, one and a half. Done.'

Noctis watched him with amusement. It was funny to see the usually stern guard so awkward.

Cor poured the thick pink liquid onto the spoon, then held it out for Noctis to take. 'Probably tastes horrible. Sorry.'

'S'okay,' Noctis said around the medicine. It wasn't that bad actually, and the half spoonful was gone just as quickly.

Cor did the bottle up and set it on the bedside table, then hovered. He cautiously reached out a hand to press against Noctis's forehead. 'Mild fever? You're burning up, she's crazy,' he muttered. 'Go on, lay down. Your father will have me hung if you're not asleep by the time he gets here.'

Noctis shuffled down the bed and leaned against his pillows, feeling the wave of dizziness pass now that he was resting.

Cor leaned over and tugged the blankets up so they covered his shoulders, then the man nodded to himself and stood up, wandering over to snag a chair from the desk in the corner of the room so he could keep watch as the king had requested. His dark eyes fell on the two boys hovering by the foot of the bed. 'I can take care of him, don't worry.'

'We know,' Gladiolus said, not wanting to offend his hero. 'But we just…we wanted to…'

'What he means is we'd like to stay with him,' Ignis finished.

'He needs sleep. He won't get that with the two of you here. Besides, don't need the two of you coming down with fevers too.'

'We won't,' Gladiolus said confidently. 'Please? We just want to make sure he's okay.'

With a sigh Cor leaned forward. 'I know you care about him, but he'll be fine. Even more so if you leave him to sleep-'

'I want them to stay,' Noctis said, sitting himself up again.

Cor ground his teeth and counted to five slowly in his head. 'Your highness-'

'I'll sleep better if they're here. Promise,' Noctis said, blinking impossibly large blue eyes at Cor.

When had he gone soft? Cor felt his defences crumbling, and he waved a large hand. 'Fine. Stay. But if he's not asleep within fifteen minutes I'm kicking you both out.'

The two guardians took up their positions perched on either side of the bed again, watching over the dark haired boy. True to Cor's fears, Noctis didn't even try closing his eyes now that he had his friends close.

'Prince, you have to sleep,' Ignis insisted, casting a quick glance over to Cor who was watching them like a hawk. 'Otherwise we can't stay.'

'But you're all the way over there, so I have to keep my eyes open to see you,' Noctis pointed out.

Ignis and Gladiolus exchanged quick glances, then sighed and shuffled further up the bed. They lay on top of the covers still in their formalwear, and the bed was wide enough for all three of them to lay against the pillows. This close they could feel the heat radiating from Noctis. Finally satisfied that his friends weren't going anywhere, Noctis closed his eyes again, and this time he was asleep within seconds.

Just past midnight the bedroom door quietly opened, and the king slipped inside. By the light of the moon pouring in through one of the large windows he came to his trusted friend and guard. 'How is he?' Regis asked, looking over to the bed where the three boys slept.

'Fever. Just a childhood sickness, I guess. The healer gave him some medicine and said to see how he is in the morning.'

Regis nodded.

'How did it go?' Cor asked.

Regis sighed, and leaned against the desk. 'As badly as can be expected. Poorly concealed jibes, their excuse for the king being unable to attend was that his hunting trip overran. How ridiculous. As soon as they're gone I want to start planning for what would happen if our kingdoms were to seek different allies. They'll soon learn that they need us far more than we need them.'

'And the girl?' Cor asked. 'The prince said he saw a girl before he fainted.'

'Nobody saw him leave with a girl,' Regis said. 'It could have been a hallucination from the fever.'

'Perhaps,' Cor agreed. 'Would you like me to stay with him tonight?'

Regis shook his head and clapped a hand o the man's shoulder. 'Get some sleep. I'll visit him in the morning. For tonight it seems he has two personal guards.'

'They're just kids.'

'Exactly,' Regis said, watching the boys. 'And if they're this loyal now, imagine how loyal they'll be when he's old enough to face real danger. This is where true bonds are forged, Cor, you should know that. Now get some sleep, that's an order.'

'Yes, your highness.'

-

Noctis dreamed of the light. He was in a dark room, and the light was all around, warm and golden. The longer he stared the more shapes he could see in the swirling mists. Then a figure stepped out of the shadows; Stella. She smiled and reached out a hand for him to take.

'I've been waiting for you to see. Come, there's so much to show you. You'll want to see this. She's here. You can see her again if you'd like.'

'See who?' he asked.

'You know who.'

'I don't! Who is it…?' Noctis asked, but then the light faded and Stella was swallowed up by darkness.

Noctis woke up feeling groggy. He would have turned over and gone back to sleep, but it quickly became apparent that he wasn't alone. The covers were pinned down either side of him, and Gladiolus was flat on his back snoring loudly, while Ignis was curled on his side, facing Noctis. He looked different with his glasses off. He struggled to sit up, but the covers wouldn't budge. His movements woke the other two boys, though, who were quick to sit up themselves.

'How are you feeling?' Ignis asked, checking Noctis's temperature with his hand as he had seen the healer do the night before.

'I'm okay,' Noctis said. 'I need to get up.'

'I don't think so,' Gladiolus said, resting a hand on his shoulder to keep him down. 'That healer said she wanted to see you this morning.'

It wasn't like Gladiolus to encourage bed rest. Noctis wondered just how ill he looked. He didn't feel great, but there was something he needed to do. The dream was still fresh in his mind; he had to find Stella and talk to her again.

'I have to get up, I've got school,' Noctis pointed out, for once grateful it was a school day. He had no intention of going, but if it got him free from bed rest then he'd take the excuse and run with it.

Ignis saw through him, though. 'You _want_ to go to school? Well now I know you're ill.'

'I'm going to start taking my studies seriously, like you,' Noctis said, trying to sound convincing.

'No, you want to go see Prompto and gossip in the back of class,' Gladiolus said.

Well, whatever worked, Noctis thought. 'Uh, yeah. I want to see Prom. I need to tell him what he missed last night, you know he gets down because he can't join in with us.'

Ignis raised an eyebrow. 'You missed most of the party. How are you going to explain it to Prompto?'

'Um, well-' Noctis was saved from answering by a knock at the door.

A different healer entered, a man in the same kind of white robes that the woman had worn last night. As he made his way to the bed Gladiolus and Ignis climbed off, and hung back while their friend had his temperature taken.

'How is he?' called a deep voice from the open door. King Regis cross the room to the healer, then sat down on his son's bed.

'His temperature is lower than last night, but not completely normal yet. I'd recommend another dose of the medicine, and bed rest for the day.'

Regis nodded slowly, his sharp blue eyes taking in every detail of his son's face. 'Noctis? Are you feeling unwell still?'

Noctis shook his head. 'I feel fine,' he lied. 'I don't want to stay in bed all day, it'll be boring. Ignis has that special tutoring and Gladiolus has training, so I'd be all alone.'

The king made a resigned sound, then looked up at the healer. 'Is he well enough to be up and about?'

The healer nodded. 'For a little bit, but I wouldn't recommend he pushes himself. And as we don't know the cause of the illness I'd recommend against school, in case he's infectious.'

Regis turned to Ignis and Gladiolus. 'You were foolish to be so close to him last night when you knew he was ill,' the king said, then he voice softened. 'But thank you for being with him.'

'Our pleasure,' Gladiolus said.

'Well Noctis,' Regis continued with a wry smile. 'A day off school, I'm sure you're terribly upset. You can stay with me for the day if you'd like? I'll be in the audience chamber with the royal family of Tenebrae, you can sit in and see how boring my days are. I promise you won't think schoolwork is half as bad when you see what's in store for you when you're older.'

'Um, okay,' Noctis said, not really sure he wanted to sit in on dusty meetings, but he did want to spend more time with his father. And if he was in the palace there was a chance he could see Stella again and ask her about the light.

'Very well, take your medicine and get dressed, then meet me for breakfast and we'll begin the official business.'

Noctis was so happy that he didn't have to sneak out of school to find Stella that he took his medicine without complaint, then took the clothes Ignis handed to him. As he set them down on the bed he groaned.

'A shirt? But I'm not going to school,' Noctis complained.

'No, this is even more formal, you'll be attending your father in the audience chamber. This is big, Noct,' Ignis said. 'He wants you to see what you'll be doing in a few years time. This is important, it's a big step.'

Noctis frowned at the clothes as if they'd personally offended him. 'I don't want to take a big step. I'm fine where I am.'

Ignis sighed patiently, and placed a hand on Noctis's shoulder, but the young boy just shook him off and stormed over to the wardrobe where he pulled out a pair of dark jeans and an oversized zip up hoodie. 'There, I'm dressed,' he huffed.

'Your highness-'

'No. If I'm supposed to be some important prince then I can do what I want, right?' Noctis said angrily. 'Everyone always tells me Lucis is the greatest, and I'm the heir to Lucis, so technically I'm the second greatest person in the world. So if I don't want to wear a stupid shirt then I won't.'

Gladiolus snorted with laughter. 'Gotta admire the kid's attitude.'

'You're not helping,' Ignis hissed to him. 'Noctis-'

But Noctis had already stormed out of the room.

'Well that could have gone better,' Ignis said, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

'Chill, Ignis,' Gladiolus said. 'He's all mixed up, blame the hormones. And he's been through a lot recently. He doesn't want to grow up-'

'But he has to,' Ignis said. 'Everybody has to grow up and start taking responsibility. You think I like having to study every hour of the day? To learn about the royal lines, and the monsters of the world and learn to plan attacks and identify threats? I do it because Noctis is my friend and it will help him. But right now he's not exactly helping himself.'

'Again, he's growing up and just lost his mother. And King Regis is really putting the pressure on him,' Gladiolus pointed out. 'He's all confused, it's a lot to happen at once.'

'I just want him to be the best he can be,' Ignis said sadly.

Gladiolus nudged him. 'How about settling for getting him happy again for now? When was the last time you even saw him smile. I mean properly?'

Ignis paused, then hung his head a little.

'Tonight let's give him a break, yeah? We'll find Prompto and just hang out together. No mentioning homework or politics or anything, got it? Just a fun evening with his friends,' Gladiolus suggested.

'That could be good for him.'

'It _will_ be good for him,' Gladiolus said.

-

King Regis sighed, and looked up from his newspaper. If the news of rising crime rates and growing resentment at Lucis being the last kingdom with a crystal wasn't depressing enough, his only son was sat across from him at the dining table looking pale and miserable and pushing his cereal around the bowl. He loved his son, and since his wife's death Noctis was the only family he had left. But there just wasn't enough hours in the day to devote to him as much time as he'd like.

'Are we playing this game again?' Regis asked.

Noctis looked up. 'What game?'

'The you not eating game. Last time I believe it was the gravy was too thick, the time before that the toast wasn't hot enough. And the soup-'

'Even you said the soup was yuck,' Noctis pointed.

'…Okay, the soup _was_ foul,' Regis admitted. 'But you have got to be the fussiest eater in all of Lucis. What's wrong with cereal, surely the cook can't have ruined that?'

Noctis glanced down at the corn loops. 'I'm not hungry.'

Regis frowned. 'Well, they haven't given you much, can't you at least eat half?'

Noctis considered this, but his stomach felt queasy so he shook his head.

'Not even one spoonful?' Regis tried.

Noctis shook his head.

Had he not been a king, Regis would have sighed in frustration. How had his wife managed for all those years? Noctis was stubborn and picky with his food, but she'd always managed to make sure he ate enough to keep him going. 'Would you like something different?'

'Not hungry at all,' Noctis said. 'Can I try that instead?' he pointed a finger at the steaming mug beside Regis's hand.

'My coffee? You won't like it,' Regis warned.

'I want to try. You say it always gives you energy.'

'Really not suitable for a ten year old,' Regis said, but he slid the cup over.

'I'm ten and a half,' Noctis pointed out, as if the six months made the world of difference. He picked the cup up and sniffed it experimentally. It was strong, and smelt how his father smelt when he hugged him in the evenings. He must drink a lot of the stuff, Noctis reasoned. Carefully he raised the cup to his lips, then made a face. It was bitter. Really bitter.

Regis laughed at the face his son made. 'Told you that you wouldn't like it,' Regis said, reaching out to take it back.

'No, no I like it,' Noctis lied, keeping tight hold of the cup. 'Can I have it?'

Regis raised an eyebrow. 'You really like it?'

Noctis nodded.

'Okay, fine. But if I fall asleep in my throne I'll be blaming you. You'll understand when you're older what the crystal takes out of you. I hope to Etro that you do like coffee, the caffeine will help you.'

Noctis had no idea what his father was talking about but he nodded dutifully anyway.

'Would you like sugar in it?' Regis asked, as Noctis took another sip and screwed his face up again.

'No, it's fine,' Noctis lied. Besides, if this was how his father took it, then it was exactly how Noctis wanted to drink it. This was a grown up thing that he actually wanted to learn.

The audience chamber, however, was something that he didn't want to learn at all. He was still holding his mug of coffee (he'd managed a quarter of the cup) as he followed his father into the room. Everyone stood up as they entered, and bowed their heads. An advisor hurried forward and asked Regis if he'd like another throne set out for Noctis, but Regis shook his head.

'Today is a one off, he can use…the other throne.' Regis turned sad eyes to his son, and offered his hand. 'Come, Noctis.'

Noctis took his father's hand and tried to ignore the stares of people dressed in black, and especially those of the people dressed in purple and gold from Tenebrae. They were all arranged on long tables in the chamber, and the two thrones sat on a dais at the head of the room.

Once they had stepped onto the raised platform Regis nodded at the rightmost throne. 'Just for today. When you're older we'll have one made especially for you.'

Noctis approached the cold, dark throne with apprehension. His mother had sat here each day, seeing petitioners, helping to draw up plans for treaties and for war. Slowly he sat down, shuffling backward. His feet hung in the air.

The meeting was very boring. It was the official version of the condolences, now that the merriment of last night's party was over. Noctis sat in silence, watching the faces of the people below. Most of them he knew from around the palace; advisors and guards of Lucis. Cor was stood behind the two thrones. Noctis had looked back at him once, and caught the older man's gaze. The prince and queen of Tenebrae came to the thrones and bowed low as they offered their condolences, but Noctis blocked them out. He didn't need fake words. He scanned the room for Stella, and though he saw her mother the young girl was nowhere to be seen. His heart dropped in disappointment. He managed to finish another inch of coffee, but it tasted even worse when it was cold. He was determined to drink it all, though, even though it was making him feel sick all over again.

Finally they broke for lunch, and Noctis followed after Regis, with Cor behind them.

'I do hope you're hungry enough for lunch now,' Regis said with a smile in his eyes.

'Still not hungry,' Noctis said.

Regis frowned, then crouched down and lifted a hand to Noctis's forehead. He frowned. 'I think your fever is coming back, you're warm. Are you okay?'

'Yes,' Noctis lied.

Regis smiled. 'Stubborn. You did well this morning.'

'I just sat there.'

'Sometimes that's all that's needed. To sit and listen, and absorb it all.'

Noctis didn't admit that he hadn't really been listening at all, but rather wondering where Stella could be. 'Yes.'

Regis ruffled his hair and straightened up. He turned to Cor. 'Can you take him back to his room? Then find someone to sit with him this afternoon while he sleeps.'

'Yes, your majesty. Then I'm to return?'

'Yes, for a fun filled afternoon of forced pleasantries. You won't be missing anything, Noct, I promise you that. As soon as we're done the Tenebrae representatives can be on their way, though, so that's one positive. The sooner they're gone the better.'

That struck fear into Noctis. By this evening Stella could be gone, then he'd never get a chance to ask her about the light. But Regis was leaving and Cor had a hand on his back, guiding him down the hall toward his room.

'I'm not a kid, I don't want to go to bed,' Noctis said. 'Can I go and sit with Gladiolus while he trains?'

Cor raised an eyebrow. 'His majesty said that you should rest, so I'm taking you to bed.'

'But-'

'Just following orders.'

Noctis huffed, but Cor wasn't going to budge. It was like the time he refused to let Noctis out even though it was slightly after his curfew. There was no way Cor had ever been ten years old, Noctis reasoned. Cor wouldn't leave until he saw Noctis climbing into bed, but as soon as the door was closed Noctis shoved back the covers and ran to the door, listening out for any signs that Cor might not have actually left. When he was happy the coast was clear, Noctis opened the door again and slipped out quietly. Whoever Cor sent to sit with him was going to get a nasty shock when they found him gone, but this was an emergency. He had to find Stella.

It was awkward sneaking around, but his training with Gladiolus and his not so official training with Prompto had helped him find good ways to hide, then check around corners to make sure no servants were wandering about ready to see him. Stella wasn't in the ball room, or the main gardens, or the courtyard she had spoken to him in last night. Nor any of the other courtyards. She wasn't in the music room, or the drawing room, or the large lounge. After twenty minutes of searching Noctis decided they needed a smaller palace; it was far too easy to lose someone in here.

Two maids came running, so he ducked behind a table as they went hurrying past.

'I have no idea where he could be, oh the king is going to be furious,' one of them was saying.

Oops, they'd found out he was missing. That meant he had to be even more careful. Which was why he jumped a mile when someone touched his shoulder.

'Ahh!' he yelped, and fell on his butt. He scrambled around, expecting to see a stern face…but instead found the smiling form of Stella Fleuret.

'Hello,' she said politely. 'You've caused quite a fuss.'

'Uh, yeah,' Noctis said, feeling his cheeks heat up. 'Well, it's their problem, not mine. Listen, I need to talk to you-'

'Not here,' she said, going serious. She stood up and looked about, then down at him. 'Coast is clear, follow me.'

It felt strange being led around his own home, but Stella seemed to know where she was going and led him to the music room. She closed the door behind them, and for the first time they were alone. Sunlight from the large bay windows warmed the room, and cast a glow on the large grand piano, and the harp, and the row of stringed and woodwind instruments. Stella walked between them all, gently running her fingers along the keys of the piano.

'You've seen the light?' she asked finally.

'Yeah. When you touched me, then I dreamed of it last night.'

She smiled. 'I knew it was you that I saw.' Her smile turned sad. 'I'm sorry.'

Noctis frowned. 'Why are you sorry?'

'It's a poisoned gift, to see the light. And you haven't even slept yet.'

'Slept? Do you ever speak normally?' Noctis asked, getting frustrated.

She was patient, though. 'You don't see the light now, do you? When you look up, you don't see the swirling mists of gold?'

Noctis looked up. All he saw was the white ceiling. 'No, just in my dream.'

'I see it even now. I see it when I close my eyes, I see it when I go to sleep. It's always there. And it will be for you too, once you've had the sleep.'

'You were in my dream last night,' Noctis said. 'You said that I could see her. Who did you mean?'

Stella smiled. 'You know who I mean. You know what the light is.'

Noctis swallowed hard as tears shone in his eyes. 'My mother?'

Stella nodded. 'The light is the souls of the dead. Once you can hear them properly you'll never be able to stop. They're always there, and nobody else can see them. You'll think you're going crazy. They'll drive you crazy. Every minute of your life you'll see their tortured souls, and there's nothing you can do to help them. That's why I had to find you, to know that I wasn't crazy. To meet someone else who can see them too.'

'But I don't _want_ to see them,' Noctis said, taking a step away from the blonde girl. 'I love my mother, but I don't want to see her as light. I want to see her in person.'

'She's gone. But she'll be with you. There's nothing you can do, the goddess Etro has chosen you. All you have to do now is embrace it. It's time for you to sleep.'

Noctis backed up again, almost tripping over a violin in its stand. 'You keep saying that, but it doesn't sound like a good thing. Keep away from me or I'll scream for the guards.'

'They won't get to you in time. I locked the door. You can feel it, can't you? The light is ready to claim you. All you have to do is let go.'

Violently shaking his head Noctis hurried away from her. But he was feeling lightheaded and sick again, worse than before. He fought to stay on his feet, but he collapsed against the piano. That was when Stella reached him, and placed her warm hand against his forehead.

'It's okay,' she said softly. 'When you wake up everything will be clearer. Now you have to rest. It's a sleep like death, and you'll be trapped in your body, but when you wake up you'll have the power of the light. Etro will be with you.'

'I don't want…' Noctis said, but it was no good. His eyes were falling closed, and he slid to the floor unconscious.

Stella unlocked the door and straightened her dress, then she ran out into the palace to tell the staff that she'd found the missing prince. And that they'd better bring a healer.

-

If he was truthful to himself Ignis was ever so slightly jealous of Noctis. He'd wanted to sit in the audience chamber for the longest time, to find out what went on behind those closed doors where all the important decisions were made. And despite his intense study programme for gifted children, Ignis had yet to be offered a seat in the hall. But Noctis, who was several years younger than himself, was there right now. Okay so he was the prince, but still, he was far too young and undisciplined to appreciate the experience.

His tutor was reading from a textbook on the history of Altissa when someone burst into the room. Ignis looked up annoyed, but as soon as he saw who it was he dropped his pen.

'Gladio? What's wrong?' he asked, worry flooding through him as he saw the panicked expression on the young man's face.

'Prince...prince Noctis...' Gladiolus gasped between breaths. 'He collapsed again and they can't wake him up.'

Lesson abandoned, Ignis hurried after his friend through the palace. All the staff were rushing about, and tensions were high. When they saw King Regis storming through the hall with Cor at his heels they followed him, all the way up to Noctis's bedroom. There were at least a dozen people crowded around the prince's bed, most of them in healer's robes and all of them talking in hurried whispers. They turned as one when the king stormed into the room.

'Your majesty,' one began.

'What happened?' Regis demanded. 'What…oh god, Noctis…' People parted for him, clearing the way to the bed. Noctis was lying on the covers, looking small and pale. His thin chest barely rose and fell at all, and when the king reached out to touch his cheek his skin was cold as ice. 'Is he…?'

'He's alive, your majesty,' one of the healers said. 'But his vital signs are very low. I've never seen blood pressure and heart rate readings as low as his, and his temperature is under thirty degrees.'

'Speak,' the king demanded. 'What's wrong with him?'

The group exchanged worried glances. 'W-we don't know, your majesty. Nobody has ever seen anything like this.'

The king swallowed hard, then looked back at his frail son. 'Scour the medical journals. Call on our allies. Do whatever you must, but _wake him up and make him well again_.'

'Your majesty,' the lead healer said, bowing deeply.

The murmuring healers all left, and suddenly the room felt large again. Regis bent down and wrapped his arms around his son, pulling him close to his chest in a hug. 'How did I not notice? Cor, he seemed fine this morning.'

Cor shook his head grimly. 'You had no way of knowing, your majesty.'

'I just lost my wife, I can't…not Noctis too. I can't lose him too, Cor.'

'You won't,' Cor said. 'Perhaps the girl will have more information, though? Her mother has requested to be present for the questions, but they should be ready by now. The girl was the one to find him, perhaps she can shed some light on what happened.'

'Yes, yes of course,' Regis said distractedly, and gently set his son back against the pillows. He smoothed down the dark unruly hair then reluctantly got to his feet. When he turned around he blinked in surprise at finding his son's shadows there. He smiled. 'Would the two of you stay with him? If he wakes up please let someone know.'

'We will, your majesty,' Ignis said, inclining his head to show respect as he'd been taught.

The king nodded and finally left with his bodyguard, leaving the three friends alone. Instantly Ignis and Gladiolus hurried to Noctis's bedside to see the sleeping prince for themselves.

Gladiolus gripped Noctis's small hand tightly. 'I should have protected him better.'

'How?' Ignis asked sadly, taking Noctis's other hand. 'How can you protect him from sickness?'

'I don't know. But I should have done something more. I wasn't even there when he collapsed. I mean how long had he been lying there before he was found? If he'd got help sooner maybe he'd be awake right now.'

Ignis had no words for that, it was a distinct possibility. Instead he gently rubbed his thumb against the back of Noctis's cold hand, as depression sunk in. This was his prince, and his friend. The boy he was being trained to help. Slipping away from them. He looked dead; his skin was white as snow and his lips were pale blue. It scared Ignis more than he could admit. 'What if the last thing I ever said to him is that stupid argument?' Ignis mused aloud.

'Don't do that to yourself,' Gladiolus said. 'Besides, he's not gonna…he's tougher than that.'

'Does he look tough to you?' Ignis asked suddenly, waving his free hand at the slight boy lying deathly still.

'Strength takes many forms, that's what my teacher says,' Gladiolus said with a shrug. 'His body might not be strong yet, but he is. He'll be fighting whatever is making him sick, and we have to believe in him.'

There was a ping at the window, and the two boys jumped.

'What was that?' Gladiolus asked, already getting off the bed to go and investigate. He was halfway there when there was another ping. He pressed up against the glass and looked up, then down, and saw the source. Prompto was on the ground, getting ready to throw another rock.

'Hey!' the blonde called, waving an arm. 'Let me in?'

Gladiolus opened the window. 'Balcony?'

'Yup!' Prompto called, and began climbing up the trellis on the side of the palace wall. Noctis's room had its own balcony, and for someone as nimble as Prompto it was a fairly easy (if slightly dangerous) climb. When he neared the top Gladiolus grabbed under his arms and lifted him the rest of the way.

'Shouldn't you be in school?' Gladiolus said, leading the younger boy into the room and checking to make sure no guards had noticed them.

'School's over for the day, duh,' Prompto said. 'And since Noct wasn't there I had to come check he wasn't skipping class without me. Then I heard all this weird stuff in the town on the way over, people are saying the prince is dead? That's…I knew that wasn't right. He can't be dead, there'd be stuff all over the news and… _please_ tell me he's not dead,' Prompto finished, a desperate tone to his voice.

Gladiolus sighed. 'He's not dead, but…well, see for yourself.' He waved a hand at the bed, where Ignis was still sat watching over the young prince.

Prompto leaped onto the bed and crawled over to the spare side, taking Noctis's free hand and invading his personal space. 'Jeez, you guys sure he's not dead? He looks…well, kind of dead. Is he actually breathing? Has anyone checked that?' Prompto leaned down check his friend's chest was rising and falling, albeit it not very much. 'What happened? I leave you two in charge of him for one day. And no offence, it's kind of your jobs.'

'There are other things we have to do,' Ignis said hotly. 'I have to study, I can't be with him all the time. I wish I could, but I can't…I couldn't protect him…'

'Not your fault,' Gladiolus reminded him. 'It's not anybody's fault. All that matters now is getting him better.'

'How do we do that?' Prompto asked.

'I have no idea. But the healers will figure it out,' Gladiolus said. 'And we'll do whatever it takes to help him.'

-

The heavy audience chamber doors slid closed, and King Regis regarded his guests carefully. The girl was young, about Noctis's age, and a delicate little thing at that. Her mother was similar in appearance but tall and striking, with a glare that shot right through him.

'Why are we here?' she asked sharply, placing a slim hand on her daughter's shoulder. 'Being treated like common criminals-'

'I assure you common criminals never set foot in my audience chamber,' Regis said, resting an elbow on the arm of his throne and running fingers through his closely cropped beard. The woman was annoying, but it was only right she was present with her daughter. 'Stella, isn't it?'

The girl looked up nervously at her name, biting her pale pink lip. 'Yes, your majesty.'

'You found my son this afternoon?'

'I did.'

'Run me through how you found him.'

She paused and looked up at her mother, who just nodded. 'Get on with it, the sooner we leave this wretched kingdom the better.'

'Well, I had gotten lost, and I was wandering around a bit, but then I saw the door to the music room was open. I thought I might like to play a little piano, I take lessons at home, but when I went inside Prince Noctis was laying on the floor. I thought he was dead and I panicked and started yelling, I'm sorry for the confusion I caused, but I really thought he was dead.'

'Yes,' Regis said, massaging his temples. Word had spread like wildfire among the servants and now half the damn kingdom thought that Prince Noctis had passed on like his mother. That was going to be a mess to clean up, there were mourners as the palace gates already. 'In your defence he is gravely ill, and the symptoms do appear similar to...but I can assure you my son is alive.'

'I'm very happy to hear that, your majesty,' Stella said, with a little curtsey.

'Get up, Stella,' her mother snapped. 'Is there anything else? My daughter had already told this to-'

'I just wonder,' Regis continued. 'What my son was doing in the music room. He had no lesson today, and my own personal guard had escorted him to his bedroom to rest. What compelled him to get up, while feeling ill, and go to the music room I wonder?' he watched Stella's reaction carefully. Her eyes betrayed her.

'I-I don't know, your majesty. Perhaps he wanted to practice?'

Her mother scoffed. 'Seems a bit odd that he'd choose that time to practice.'

'Exactly,' Regis said, surprised that even Lady Fleuret wasn't jumping to defend her daughter. 'I'll ask once more, Stella. And my dear, nobody is blaming you, and you're not going to get into any trouble. I just need to know what happened to my son, so I can help him. Stella, were you with him before he fainted?'

She swallowed hard, and shook her head.

'Really Stella, were you or weren't you? Just answer the king,' her mother hissed.

'I…we were just talking, and he fainted. I didn't do anything, I swear!'

Regis sighed in relief. 'I know you didn't, but this is very important, Stella. Did he say anything about feeling ill? About anything hurting? Did he look off colour or was he saying strange things or-'

'The light,' Stella mumbled unhappily, reaching for her mother's hand. 'We were talking about the light.'

'The light? Did he have a headache? Was he complaining of light? Could be meningitis…' Regis mused to himself.

'Oh not this again,' Lady Fleuret said suddenly. 'I apologise, your majesty, my daughter can say strange things sometimes. She has it in her head that she can see a golden light. But conveniently nobody else can see it.'

'It's true!' Stella said, pulling her hand back and glaring at her mother. 'It's all around. It’s the light of the dead and now Noctis can see it too. He's having the sleep right now.'

'The sleep?' Lady Fleuret said, then sighed. 'Stella, dear, that was a sickness you had, remember? You were ill.'

'No, it was the sleep like death, that the goddess Etro promised would give me the gift of sight.'

Lady Fleuret smiled apologetically to the king. 'Stella was taken ill a few months ago with a fever. She slipped into a coma, and ever since she calls it her sleep of death. I don't know what happened, but the healers say she was lucky to have survived. Her body almost gave up. I think she's still recovering, to be perfectly honest.'

'I'm fine, and Noctis is going through it now too. You don't believe me, but he won't wake up no matter what you do. Only when the goddess is ready to give him back, then he'll wake up. And he'll be able to see the light. Just wait and see.'

King Regis looked between the two, then up at Cor. 'I have no idea what's going on here.'

'That makes two of us,' Cor said. 'I don't think there's anything to be learned from all this, though. The girl is clearly making up stories. If she did speak to the prince before his collapse I'm not sure she'll be able to offer us any useful information.'

'I agree,' Regis said sadly, then turned to the Fleurets. 'Thank you for your time, Stella, Lady Fleuret. I'm sorry to have had to bring you here like this.'

'Quite alright,' Lady Fleuret said, taking her daughter's hand and then pulling her away to the doors. She paused, though, and turned back as a thought occurred to her. 'It was the strangest illness. Stella was ill for a couple of days with a regular fever, then her temperature dropped and she really did sleep like she was dead, for nearly two weeks. I'm not sure how your son is doing, but perhaps there's a sickness about? Good day, your majesty.'

Regis frowned as the doors closed behind her. He had more questions than he'd started with, and no way to get answers.

-

'How long can you sleep for?' Prompto asked suddenly.

'Forever. It's called being dead,' Gladiolus said.

'I know that,' Prompto said, sticking out his tongue. 'But if you're just sleeping, regular sleeping, how long can you stay asleep for?'

Ignis set down the book he had been reading (or not reading, he was too worried to study) and turned to his friends. They had a board game set out between them and were laying next to Noctis on his bed. 'Excluding those in comas, or those who take sleeping medication or other drugs, the longest recorded natural sleep was five days.'

'Well that's good, then, right?' Prompto said. 'Noct's only been asleep for three, so there are people that have gone for longer than him and survived.'

'Yes,' Ignis said, but it was in his least convincing tone ever. His gaze fell on the needle stuck in Noctis's pale, thin arm, dripping fluids intravenously into his body to keep him from dehydrating. He winced as he remembered the healer sticking it in, how painful it had looked and yet Noctis hadn't twitched at all. He was particularly glad he hadn't been there for the catheter.

'What's it like in the city?' Gladiolus asked.

'People are confused, they don't know whether the prince is dead or alive, and what they should be doing. The king did that official announcement to say he was sick, but people are still passing around rumours that Noct died and the palace just aren't ready to admit it yet.'

'He's not gonna die,' Gladiolus said, his warm amber eyes resting on Noctis. 'He's gonna be fine. I was teaching him defence techniques last week, he knows how to protect himself.'

'Against an attacker, yes,' Ignis said. 'But how do you fight off something like this?'

'I told you, strength isn't just about your body, it's your mind too. The prince will beat this. He has to.'

Another week passed, with healers from all over the kingdom being summoned to attend the young prince. Each of them tried something different, but none of them were able to revive him. King Regis began travelling to every corner of his kingdom to meet specialists, and when he wasn't out he was locked up in his study writing letters begging for foreign aid. Anything to help his son wake up.

Noctis was attended to by healers day and night, and also his three friends. Cor had stopped protesting at finding Prompto in the prince's bedroom at all hours of the day, and Ignis had even started skipping his tutoring sessions so that he could be with his friend. They either slept on the bed, or in the arm chairs beside the bed. And when they played games they'd often set a place for Noctis as if their friend might wake up and join them.

They were playing a game of poker, with Prompto teaching the other two the rules, when a healer bustled in with King Regis. Nobody had seen the King in two days; he had been travelling to Altissa and had only just returned.

'Why can't it just stay in?' Regis was saying.

'It's been so long, your majesty. We believe that a tube through his nose might be a better way of feeding him. The needle site at his elbow has become infected, it needs to be removed and he needs to be started on antibiotics or the infection could become septicaemia. His body is very weak, an infection like this could-'

'Fine. Fine, do what you have to.' The king sat down on the bed, where Gladiolus had just vacated, and took his son's hand.

'No news from Altissa?' the healer asked.

'They've never heard of anything like this either. They offered to send a healer, but I have hundreds myself. Nobody knows what to do.'

'Perhaps Tenebrae?' the healer suggested. 'You mentioned the girl was in a coma for two weeks. Perhaps their healers can help?'

Regis sighed. The tensions between the two nations were high, but if it meant saving his son then he'd do anything. He stood up, casting a pained look at the boy before leaving. 'I'll draft a letter to them, they might know something. _Someone_ must know something.'

The doors closed and the room was silent again. The three boys collected the playing cards and relocated back to the bed. Nobody dealt the cards.

Ignis shuffled up to Noctis's right arm, where the needle punctured the skin. There was a strip of white tape holding it steady, but the skin was red and slightly raised, clearly infected. Ignis gently touched his fingers to the skin, relishing the warmth. It was the only part of Noctis that was warm anymore; his temperature had been steadily dropping every day.

'What do they mean, a tube through the nose?' Prompto asked, in a small voice.

'For feeding and for medication,' Ignis said. 'The tube goes through his nose down into his stomach.'

Prompto screwed up his face, and felt like he was going to throw up. 'Won't that hurt?'

'He won't feel anything,' Ignis said. 'I wish he would, but he's too far gone for that. If the healers think it's for the best then they need to do it. Look how thin he's getting. He's not going to last much longer.'

'Muscle loss, because he's just lying around,' Gladiolus said.

'Partly,' Ignis agreed. 'But this might be for the best. Anything they can do to help him.'

'What's the good of looking healthy if he's still asleep, though?' Prompto asked. 'They need to worry about waking him up, I'd say. I hate seeing him like this. He needs to wake up. What if he _never_ wakes up?' Prompto's voice cracked as the situation hit him hard.

Nobody knew what to say to that. So they dealt another round of poker and tried not to think about what might or might not happen. The thought of losing their friend was too much to bear.

-

The healers inserted the nasogastric tube. Ignis watched them do it. He forced himself to watch, taking mental notes and telling himself he was studying. But really he wanted to be there to hold Noctis's hand, just in case the small boy could feel it. He knew that he wouldn't want to be alone if he was going through that. Noctis's arm was bandaged up at the needle site, and they started him on a course of antibiotics for the infection. When his urine started running red they gave him antibiotics for a urine infection too. And when his chest became rattly they added another antibiotic to the cocktail for a chest infection. The healers started talking in hushed whispers after that, saying that the prince's body was shutting down. That Noctis's body was finally giving up on him. It certainly looked like it was giving up; the prince was reed thin, and pale as death.

His three friends were sat on his bed as usual, each of them tired beyond belief from the vigil they had been keeping for over two weeks. Their hearts hurt as they watched Noctis struggle for each shallow breath, and every time the prince paused in his breathing there was the panic that it had been his last.

The door to the bedroom opened, and slow footsteps made their way to the bed. 'You should all go back to your homes and get some sleep,' King Regis said solemnly.

'Have you received word back from Tenebrae yet?' Ignis asked.

The king swallowed hard, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. 'They apologised, but they were unable to offer any help. They say the Fleuret girl simply woke up on her own when she was ready.'

Ignis brightened slightly 'Maybe Prince Noctis-'

'Prince Noctis is dying,' Regis said bluntly. 'The healers think that he won't survive the night. I am very grateful for the friendship you have shown by staying with him and caring for him through this ordeal, but I don't think this is something you should have to witness. Watching someone you love die is something that stays with you until the end of your days.'

Ignis wanted to protest, but Noctis looked so ill. It was scary seeing him struggle to cling to life, and when he finally let go Ignis wasn't sure he'd be able to keep himself together. And if he couldn't then he knew that Prompto would be in pieces. Gladiolus would put on a brave front, but the older boy would be scarred too; Noctis was a younger brother to him, a best friend.

'Perhaps we should leave the king with the prince,' Ignis finally said.

'No,' Prompto said, frowning and taking Noctis's hand. 'He wouldn't leave us.'

'This isn't a game, Prom,' Ignis said, his voice quivering.

'I know that,' Prompto said harshly. 'But this is Noct. If he is gonna…well, I want to be there with him.'

'Prom…' Ignis said, but in truth he didn't want to go either. As much as it was going to hurt, not being there would hurt more. 'Your majesty, could we possibly-'

'Whoa!' Prompto said, jumping back on the bed.

'What's wrong?' the king asked.

'His hand,' Prompto said, excitement in his voice. 'I swear, his hand just twitched in mine.'

Ignis shook his head. 'It could have been your hand. An involuntary muscle spasm that you thought originated from-'

'There again!' Prompto said, a smile starting to form on his lips. 'It's not me, I promise. Look, hold his hand.'

Prompto let go, and allowed King Regis to take Noctis's hand. Ignis took the other, and Gladiolus placed his hand on top of his. For a second nobody dared breathe, then they all felt it. The spasm that jerked Noctis's arms. It was stronger that time, and his whole body twitched.

'Well something's happening,' Regis said. 'Is it a good thing?'

'He's moving, that's good, right?' Prompto said.

'Involuntary twitching,' Ignis said. 'It could be an end of life sign. I think we need the healers.'

Gladiolus ran off to do just that, and seconds later the room was filled with men and women in white robes, fussing over the sleeping prince. One of them turned to the king, and when she did her face was lit up. 'Your majesty, I believe he's waking up. The gods have answered our prayers.'

The king sat down heavily on a chair, unable to believe what was happening. When he saw through the bodies that Noctis was starting to move more noticeably he ushered them away. Though he didn't mind the three boys watching.

'Noct?' he asked gently, shaking his son's shoulder. 'Can you hear me?'

Noctis groaned, and his dry, chapped lips parted slightly. 'Mum?' he whispered.

A stab of pain shot through the king's heart, but he tried to be strong, and gently smoothed his son's hair. 'No, it's me, Noct. Come on, open your eyes for me.'

Unable to disobey, Noctis's eyes fluttered open briefly. Dazed blue eyes searched the room, taking in the blurry figures of his three friends watching him anxiously, and then his father. His hand moved slowly and weakly, and he tugged gently at the annoying thing in his nose, until his father pushed his hand away.

'No, you need to leave that in. I'll get someone to remove it properly for you now that you're awake.' The king laughed, and a smile split his face. 'You're really awake.'

'Etro said I could wake up,' Noctis said simply, then his eyes fell closed again and he fell into a proper sleep.

-

It was another week before Noctis was able to get out of bed, but slowly he began to get better and was able to return to school and training.

But he didn't tell anyone about the light. Or the fact that he was sure he could see his mother's face if he looked at it closely enough.


	2. The Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years after the goddess Etro gifted him with the ability to see the light of the dead, Noctis finds those same spirits warning him of a plot against Lucis's crystal.
> 
> With his birthday masquerade ball looming the threat becomes too great and Etro herself steps in to protect those with links to the light and the crystal. She acts the only way she knows how; by keeping them safe in a sleep so deep it's as if they're dead.

'A hundred gil says he's overslept,' Prompto said confidently.

'He's the prince,' Ignis reminded his friend. 'He knows he has duties.'

'A hundred gil says the kitchens are out of his favourite brand of coffee and he's ordered a servant to go and buy some,' Gladiolus said.

'Ooh, good one,' Prompto said.

'Again, we're talking about the crown prince of the most powerful kingdom in the world,' Ignis reminded them both. There was a long pause. 'Two hundred gil says he completely forgot where he's supposed to be.'

Prompto snickered. 'Welcome to the dark side, Ignis.'

'Perhaps one of us should go and fetch him?' Ignis suggested, looking around the audience chamber. Several people were checking their watches, and King Regis's hand was gripping the edge of his throne so tightly his knuckles had gone white.

'Eh, I'll go,' Prompto said. 'I'm the least welcome here anyway.'

Gladiolus shot him a look to tell the blonde he was being crazy, but Prompto just waved him off and left the room. He wasn't carrying a gun today, which was why he'd even been allowed in the audience chamber at all. He'd never been there before, but today was a special occasion. Or at least it would be if the guest of honour had actually turned up. Prompto was in awe as he always was when he was allowed to roam the royal palace. Everything was so fancy and so clean, and there were hundreds of staff all hurrying about. Not for the first time he wondered what it must have been like for Noctis growing up and not having to worry about doing anything. Then he caught himself; he knew that Noctis wasn't some spoilt rich kid. That was why he liked the dark haired man, precisely because he wasn't a snob.

Snob or not, though, the prince had duties and he was currently AWOL. Prompto ran up a flight of stairs and took the familiar route to Noctis's bedroom on the third floor. He rapped his knuckles against the double doors then shoved them open dramatically without waiting for a response.

'Hope you're decent,' he called in a sing song voice as he entered. 'I'll even give you five seconds to hide your girl under the covers, then I'm opening my eyes, got it?'

He didn't close his eyes. He knew Noctis wouldn't have brought a girl home, the man was a hopeless case. Despite Prompto's many attempts at getting him comfortable around other people, especially women, Noctis would just mumble and look away if he spoke at all. Not attractive, even if you were a handsome prince. Prompto needed to work harder or his friend was going to end up an eternal virgin.

'Go away,' grumbled a raspy voice from the Noctis shaped lump on the bed. The prince was completely buried under blankets.

Prompto walked over to the curtains and threw them open, letting some light into the dark room. 'Come on, we're supposed to be party planning. You only turn twenty-one once, you know, it's kind of a big deal. You made mine a big deal last month.'

The blanket lump spoke: 'We got drunk and stumbled around town between clubs, then we passed out in a cheap hotel room and had headaches for the rest of the weekend.'

'It was beautiful,' Prompto said, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. 'I suggested the same thing for your birthday, and your dad totally agreed. Only proviso is that Cor wants to tag along, he loves the strip joints apparently. Who knew?'

Slowly the blankets drew back and Noctis's crystal blue eyes peeked out, looking at Prompto suspiciously. 'I never know if you're lying or not.'

Prompto traced a cross on his chest. 'Cross my heart. Would I lie to you, Noct?'

Noctis disappeared under the blankets again. 'I don't care what happens for my birthday, so long as I don't have to be there.'

'Oh don't be like that,' Prompto said, sitting down on the edge of the huge bed and poking his friend. 'You'll love the attention.'

'I hate attention. You know that.'

'Yeah, you'll hate it. But we love you and we want to do something special, so you'll grin and bear it and we'll have the selfies to prove that you at least pretended to have a good time.' Prompto paused, waiting for Noctis to answer. His friend remained silent. 'Have you fallen back to sleep on me?'

'Yes.'

Prompto poked him again, harder. 'So cruel.' His gaze fell on the bedside table, and the cold cup of coffee. He frowned. 'Oi, you forgot your coffee. Now I'm worried, what's going on? Are you dying? Come on Noct, you can't die before your twenty-first!'

'I'm not dying, I just didn't feel like drinking it.'

'You don't feel like drinking coffee?' Prompto asked in disbelief. 'Well now I _know_ you're dying. I think we should be planning a funeral rather than a birthday bash.'

The covers came down and Noctis glared. 'Are you going to sit there all day and talk?'

'Until you get up. Then I'll follow you around and talk,' Prompto said with a smile.

Noctis groaned and draped an arm across his eyes. 'Can't you just leave me to sleep a bit longer?'

'They're waiting for you in the audience chamber. You kind of have to get up,' Prompto pointed out.

'But I'm tired,' Noctis said softly.

Prompto sighed. 'The crystal again?'

'I think so. I just feel like there's nothing left in me, you know? It's an effort to move even. All I want to do is stay in bed. How does my father cope with it every day? He has the crystal draining his energy and he works all the time.'

'He's had longer to get used to it,' Prompto pointed out. 'You're still learning, and your body is still adjusting. I think, anyway, that's how Ignis explained it to me. The crystal is constantly drawing a little bit of your energy to keep the link open, and every time you use magic it drains you faster.'

'But I'm not even using it. I haven't drawn a spell or a weapon in days. Why do I feel rubbish this morning?'

'Not a clue. Ignis is the brains, I'm the pretty face,' Prompto said with a smile. He reached out and brushed Noctis's dark hair from his eyes. 'I've got brains too, but I have to let Ignis think he's better than me at something, right? Or he'll get all grumpy and…hey, are you okay?'

'I just told you I'm tired,' Noctis said.

'No you feel, I don't know.' Prompto frowned and placed his palm flat against Noctis's forehead, where his hand had brushed the skin by accident. It had felt warmer. He pressed his other hand to his own forehead to check the difference. 'You're warm.'

'I've been laying in bed since nine last night,' Noctis pointed out.

'Eh, good point,' Prompto said, letting his hand drop. 'But you are alright?'

'I'm fine. Just tired.'

'And off your coffee,' Prompto reminded him. 'And you'll skip breakfast as usual I bet.'

'I'll have something later,' Noctis promised.

'Good. If you get any skinnier we're going to lose you down a crack in the tiles.'

'Pot, kettle,' Noctis pointed out with a sleepy smile.

'Heh. Okay well if you're up to teasing then I think you need to get your butt out of bed and to the party planning session before someone sends Cor after us. And you really don't want that. I'm being nice here, he'll just sling you over his shoulder and carry you down in your boxers and t-shirt.'

Noctis blinked. 'How the hell do you know what I'm wearing?'

Prompto winked. 'I'm magic.'

With a glare Noctis shoved the covers into his friend, then sat himself up on the bed. Half the battle was getting up, once that was done he could keep going for a few hours. Maybe he'd be allowed a nap in the afternoon, his father was usually pretty lenient when it came to crystal related bouts of exhaustion. They happened far more often than Noctis would like, and the amount of times he'd collapsed in Gladiolus's arms while training was starting to get a little bit ridiculous.

'Do you need me to pick your clothes?' Prompto teased. 'Is it beneath the Prince of Lucis to select his wardrobe for the day?'

'You are treading a fine line this morning,' Noctis grumbled. Then something hit him from behind and almost knocked him off the edge of the bed. Arms went around him and a blonde head fell on his shoulder.

'I always play with fire, you know that. Now come on, wear something nice. I suggest something black.'

Noctis desperately fought the laugh that threatened to escape his lips. As Prompto well knew his entire wardrobe was black.

Once he was dressed Noctis began the task of making his hair not resemble a chocobo nest. Lots of combing, spraying, gelling, and finally he got it just how he liked it.

Prompto appeared over his shoulder in the mirror. 'Beautiful. Definitely worth making the king wait an extra ten minutes for.'

'Shut it,' Noctis said, setting the brush down and checking his reflection one last time. Then the strangest thing happened; all he saw was gold. It had been ten years since the goddess Etro had gifted him with the ability to see the light of the dead, and usually they swirled about overhead and weren't too bothersome. But as he stared into the mirror all he could see was the swirling mists of light. There was nothing else; they surrounded him and consumed him.

'Whoa, hey, hey?' Prompto leaped forward and caught Noctis as the man started to fall. Prompto was about the same size as his friend but he was strong enough to take his weight and help him over to the bed to sit down. He sat next to him, with a steadying arm around Noctis's shoulders as he watched the colour completely drain from Noctis's face. 'Uh, I have no idea what to do…I was lying, Ignis is smarter than me. Are you alright? Noct? Say something.'

'Light…' Noctis muttered, feeling dizzy and sick. His body swayed as it tried to compensate for the vertigo.

'Light? I don't know what you mean,' Prompto said worriedly, looking over at the open bedroom door and hoping someone would just happen to walk past who could help them. 'Noct you look really ill. Do you wanna lay down or something? I think you're gonna pass out. See this is why you shouldn't skip breakfast.'

'I don't…I think I'm going to be sick…'

'You're going to- Oh. Oh! Okay, umm, right. Bathroom.'

Prompto pulled Noctis's arm over his shoulders and with a little effort he got them both to their feet and guided his friend to the en suite. Noctis stumbled, but was able to carry himself forward under Prompto's guidance. He then threw up in the toilet, while Prompto held his hair back and gently rubbed his back.

'Ugh,' Noctis groaned once he was done, and collapsed back into Prompto's waiting arms. 'Now what's the crystal doing to me? I swear it isn't worth it.'

'I know,' Prompto said sadly, feeling a pang of sympathy for his friend. As much as he was jealous of Noctis for all the privileges he was afforded, whenever he saw him as sick as this from the crystal's effects Prompto reminded himself that he was lucky to be normal. Today was particularly rough, though, Prompto had never seen him physically throw up. 'I thought Ignis said your body was meant to get more used to the crystal? Seems like you're getting worse. Maybe you should get the healers to take a look at you?'

'No thanks,' Noctis said quickly. His hatred for visiting the healers was well known.

'Stubborn,' Prompto said, adjusting Noctis in his arms, and leaning back against the edge of the huge bath tub. 'You wanna go back to bed?'

'No, it's nicer here,' Noctis said, touching his hand to the cool tiles of the floor.

'Well, it _is_ a nice bathroom,' Prompto admitted. 'But you can't stay here all day. Especially since I was supposed to bring you right back. I'll send Ignis a text so he doesn't worry.' The blonde did just that, while holding his friend close and rubbing circles on his back with his free hand.

He'd barely pressed send when two pairs of footsteps came charging into Noctis's bedroom; Ignis was clutching his phone with the message displayed.

'Where is he? Your highness?' Ignis called between puffs of breath. Gladiolus was hot on his heels, not used to being slower than Ignis.

'In here,' Prompto called. 'I did say in the text not to panic.'

'Yeah, and saying that is the quickest way to make him panic,' Gladiolus pointed out, following the bespectacled man into the bathroom. 'What are you doing in here?'

'Throwing up,' Noctis said.

Ignis was crouched down beside him in seconds, removing his glove and pressing his hand to Noctis's cheek, then his forehead. 'You're warm. I'll get a thermometer and check your temperature.'

'It's fine, don't worry,' Noctis tried to say, but Ignis was already rummaging through the medicine cabinet. It was always well stocked; Noctis was a trouble magnet.

Ignis returned and stuck the thermometer under Noctis's tongue.

Gladiolus sat on the edge of the tub and watched his friend carefully. 'You just wanted a day off.'

Noctis snorted, and ignored the glare he got from Ignis for moving. 'M'not having a day off, I just wanted a lie in.'

'Stop talking, the reading will be inaccurate,' Ignis said. He waited a few more seconds then took the thermometer. 'Hmm. You have a temperature, so I think you may be getting the day off whether you like it or not.'

'I don't want the whole day off. And I'm starting to feel better already,' Noctis insisted.

Prompto frowned. 'You looked really ill a minute ago, though. Trust me; I could see you. You might wanna rethink.'

'I'm fine,' Noctis said. He loved the guys, seriously, but being fussed over was something he hated. And his head really was feeling a bit clearer now. He'd get through the party planning then he'd play the sick card and have an afternoon nap. Perfect.

Prompto exchanged an exasperated look with Ignis, but Gladiolus had already grabbed Noctis's hand and was helping the younger man to his feet, steadying him with a strong hand. The bodyguard leaned down to look into Noctis's eyes. 'Don't push yourself too hard, prince.'

'Thank you,' Noctis said, making his way back into the bedroom. His friends stuck close as he made his way down to the audience chamber, feeling stronger with each step. Until he came to the doors and paused. He knew what he was going to find inside; his father's disapproving glare. He was seriously late. Taking a deep breath Noctis nodded to the guards standing outside to open the door for him, and he took the plunge.

'Ah, there you are,' King Regis said, with a frown on his face. 'I thought perhaps you'd been kidnapped or something.'

'I…' Noctis began, then gave it up. He was infamous for oversleeping, there was no point in making up a lie.

As he took his seat in the throne beside Regis he felt his father's gaze on him. When he turned the frown had gone, and Regis was regarding him with a curious expression. As his three friends took seats below the dais his father leaned close.

'You look rather pale. The crystal again?'

'I guess?' Noctis said, not mentioning the influx of light he had seen. It had probably been a trick of the sunlight reflecting off the mirror or something.

Regis nodded slowly. 'When I was your age the crystal took it out of me. That was when I switched to coffee, the caffeine hit helped keep me awake through the day.'

'I drink it too,' Noctis reminded his father. It was pretty much the only thing he drank these days in his desperate attempts to stay awake.

Regis frowned again, but this time it wasn't an angry frown. The concern was clear in his deep blue eyes. 'You shouldn't be this tired, Noct. I wish you'd let the healers take a look at you.'

'Can we get started?' Noctis interrupted, not caring that he was being rude.

A sigh. Regis turned to the staff that he had amassed to prepare the kingdom for the heir's twenty-first birthday. 'Well, firstly the day will be made a public holiday,' Regis said.

'Whoo!' Prompto cheered, then coughed nervously and blushed as everyone turned to look at him.

'Indeed,' Regis said, trying to hide his amused smile. 'Your birthday is on the Friday, so that evening we will invite representatives from all of the great kingdoms to a celebration. Lords from Lucis will also be invited.'

'What will the theme be?' asked an advisor who was busy scribbling notes.

'Masquerade, I think,' Regis said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. 'Venetian masks, gowns and suits. Would that suit you, Noct?'

'Sure,' Noctis said, yawning. His elbow was resting on the arm of his chair, his cheek on his hand as he stared at the ground.

'The guest list?' another advisor asked.

'Yes. Well, tensions are rising, but we'll only complicate things further by missing any kingdoms out. So the royal families and nobles from everywhere. Including Niflheim and Tenebrae.'

'Niflheim?' Noctis said, suddenly taking interest and opening his eyes more than halfway. 'Do we have to?'

'I know it's your birthday, but this is more of a political event than an actual celebration. Everyone will pretend to like each other and play nicely to pay their respects to you. To avoid insulting anyone we have to invite Niflheim. Emperor Idola is a crazy old man - off the record, nobody write that down - and he'd quite easily see a snub such as this as an opening for an attack. So let's not give him the opportunity.'

'What a birthday,' Noctis said dryly. His eyes slipped closed again and he slunk deeper into his seat. 'I hope he buys me a decent gift.'

Regis chuckled. 'I'm sure he'll bring you something memorable. He has to play his part too, after all. That's the Friday night decided, I trust the chefs to prepare a buffet befitting of the event. Now onto the Saturday evening.'

Noctis groaned. 'God how long do I have to smile for?'

'This time the smiling should come a little easier,' Regis said, with a smile of his own. 'For the Saturday you are to dress down, remove your crown so to speak and allow your friends to take you out in town. I hear young Prompto's birthday bash was something of an event, so why not enjoy yourself too?'

Noctis's eyes opened, and he turned to Prompto who was grinning. Had Prompto really told his father about that? 'But-'

'You're still young, and not king yet. There's plenty of time for seriousness, enjoy yourself while you can. Just try not to get too drunk; you can't hold your alcohol.'

'He really can't,' Gladiolus agreed, with a knowing smirk.

Noctis's cheeks heated up, but there was something nice about the whole idea. A night out with his friends, with permission from his father. No sneaking around. Just a night out with his best friends. That would make up for the stupid masquerade party.

'Suppose that will be alright,' Noctis said, in a bored tone. No sense in letting them know he was looking forward to it. But he was going to have to sleep the entire day beforehand to make sure he could stay awake long enough, his body just wasn't up to it anymore. And he'd be paying for it the day after, too. It wasn't fair.

After that the advisors wanted to narrow down the guest list further, and Regis rattled off each of the dignitaries he would be inviting to the event. Noctis wasn't interested, which was a fatal combination with his tiredness. His gaze briefly caught Ignis's, and his own advisor was looking at him with a strange expression. Pity? No, his friends didn't pity him. Sympathy maybe. Concern. An odd mix of emotions. Noctis's tired mind couldn't pick them all out, and his eyes began to slip closed as he watched his friend and listened to the long list of names, and the debates that ensued whenever Regis requested a controversial family, or when he left out someone important. Noctis was almost asleep when he heard a name that shocked life back into him.

'The Fleurets,' Regis was saying, listing them off as if they were any other family. 'Lord and Lady and their daughter uh…Samantha, is it?'

'Stella,' Noctis said simply.

Regis turned sharply to him, having not realised his son was awake. He smiled. 'Apologies. Stella Fleuret.' As the advisor scribbled the name down Regis watched his son carefully; Noctis had perked up at the girl's name. Perhaps there was something he had missed? Perhaps soon he'd be planning a royal wedding, rather than a birthday party. He hoped so; his son was so shy, it was rare to see him socialising. So anyone he took an interest in had to be considered.

Regis had no idea that Noctis wasn't interested in Stella in the way he was thinking. He just wanted to see her again, to have someone to talk to about the light. About the things he'd seen, and the powers he was developing. And to ask her whether she had the same energy issues that he had. If she'd been plagued by childhood sicknesses like he had. He just wanted to know that he wasn't alone in this, that what he went through was normal. If it was normal to spend half your life asleep when the goddess herself had bestowed gifts upon you.

After the guest list came the seating plans, and even Regis was finding it hard not to yawn. Noctis had long since fallen asleep in his throne. Prompto was shifting uncomfortably in his chair, not used to boring meetings like this. Every so often Ignis would nudge him with his knee under the table they were sat at. So when the king finally announced that they were finished everyone was more than happy to break.

Gladiolus's large hand shook Noctis's narrow shoulder, and the tall man leaned down with a smirk. 'Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.'

Noctis blinked his eyes open and groaned. His back ached; thrones were not good places for naps.

'Good to see that you were paying attention,' Ignis said with a wry smile. 'I told you that you should have been in bed.'

'Yeah yeah,' Noctis said, stretching his arms out in front of him. 'No complaints anymore. I'm gonna grab a nap now.'

'After lunch?' Ignis suggested.

The thought of food almost turned Noctis's stomach. 'Maybe after the nap. I'm really tired.'

'You just slept for two hours,' Prompto pointed out worriedly, perching himself on the arm of the throne. 'And you went to bed early last night. And slept in late. What's going on, Noct? I know you're the prince of sleepiness, but this is a bit much even for you.'

Noctis looked out across the audience chamber which was almost empty now. His gaze fixed on the portrait of the goddess Etro on the far wall. The painting was huge, covering half the wall, and right now it was bathed in golden light. The souls of the dead swam through the air, their twisted faces contorted in pain. Their soft cries echoed in his ears; their begs for help, for revenge, for answers, for someone to notice them. Noctis couldn't _not_ notice them. And it made him feel dizzy as they overwhelmed him.

'I'm just tired,' Noctis said feebly. 'There's nothing especially wrong, I just overdid it yesterday.' That was a lie too. He'd done a little sparring with Gladiolus then he'd run out of energy and had to be carried back to the palace in his bodyguard's arms. And that had been with the aid of several cups of coffee in him.

Gladiolus frowned at him, but didn't call him out on the lie. 'Well then, rest this afternoon, and hopefully tomorrow will be better.' Gladiolus said.

'And if not, then you really need to consider visiting a healer,' Ignis said, sighing at the glare Noctis gave him. 'Please, prince. Noct. You don't look well.'

He was getting sick of people saying that, but this was Ignis. He wasn't about to yell at him for being concerned. Instead Noctis gave a noncommittal shrug and stood himself up from the throne. 'I'll see…' he said, trailing off as the souls of the dead whooshed toward him, screaming their cries. The light was so bright as they surrounded him, speaking a mile a minute, in urgent, hurried voices:

_Hurry, prince Noctis._

_You have to understand._

_Happening soon._

_They're already planning._

_The crystal. The crystal!_

_Act before it's too late._

'Noctis!'

Someone was calling his name. Someone alive. Possibly the same someone who was shaking his shoulders, or perhaps the person who's arms he was cradled in. The situation reminded him of something, a memory from the distant past. But he couldn't quite place it right now, his mind was foggy. He blinked his eyes open and found himself surrounded on all sides by friends and family, all of whom looked terrified. Even Gladiolus. That was funny; Gladiolus was the toughest person he knew, it took a lot to shock him.

'I'm okay,' Noctis said, but his voice sounded alien to his ears.

Ignis's gaze found his, and Noctis wanted to say more, to reassure his friends. But talking required energy and there simply wasn't a drop left in him. The light had receded, though, there were only a few souls gliding about overhead and they were silent. They ignored him. He could cope with that.

'Where is the damn healer?' called his father's voice. Noctis's eyes found the older man, looking as scared as his friends. 'It's okay, son. You'll be fine.'

Someone came hurrying in, and Noctis groaned when he recognised the white robes of a healer. Maya, Noctis knew, he'd visited the healer's enough as a child to know them personally. He hated that. Maya knelt beside him, and began by taking his temperature. Why did everyone always do that?

'I thought he was over these illnesses,' the king murmured. 'All those chest and ear infections, and the random fevers. I thought he was stronger now.'

Shame burned within Noctis and he kept quiet. He'd tried to be strong. He trained with Gladiolus, he studied with Ignis, he was trying his best dammit. He couldn't help that his body got run down so easily. He wanted to protest that it was his father's fault for passing on the link to the crystal to him, but he didn't have the energy to complain even. The irony wasn't lost on him. Instead he submitted himself to a quick check up by the healer, still leaning in someone's lap. He slowly turned his head and saw tartan. Ah, so he was in Prompto's lap.

'A fever, but I can find no source,' Maya said to Regis. 'I suggest-'

'Bed rest,' Noctis said. 'That's what you always suggest, so can I just go already?'

She nodded. 'And medicine to relieve the fever.'

'Whatever,' Noctis said, feeling his energy start to come back slowly now that the light had faded to a more manageable level.

'We'll make sure he rests,' Gladiolus said.

'We don't usually have to try too hard with that,' Ignis pointed out. 'His highness takes his rest very seriously.'

Noctis rolled his eyes, but let himself be helped up. Gladiolus hovered, watching him with warm amber eyes that still held a hint of concern. 'Are you alright to walk, or would you like me to…?'

That made Noctis smile a little, it was nice to think that his friend didn't think he was totally useless. 'Think I can walk.'

Gladiolus pulled him to his feet, and Noctis managed to stay standing. Always a bonus. With a nod to his father he made his way out of the audience chamber, and to his bedroom. Gladiolus escorted him while Ignis and Prompto went off to find some lunch.

After flopping down on his bed, Noctis looked up at Gladiolus. 'Do you think I'm weak?' he asked, in a small voice.

'No,' Gladiolus said simply, laying down beside him, his arm brushing up against Noctis's smaller one. 'I've seen what you can do when you put your mind to it. You can be truly amazing. But your body has some rather steep limits that aren't your fault. Noct, give yourself time. The more you train the better your stamina will become as you figure out how to use your gifts.'

Noctis nodded, then turned onto his side so he could see his bodyguard better. 'Thank you, Gladio.'

Gladiolus smiled, and nudged the younger man gently with his elbow. 'That said I'm not too worried about you besting me on the battlefield in a straight fight. If you didn't warp around and couldn't summon weapons out of the goddamn air then you wouldn't stand a chance against me. You cheat.'

Noctis grinned. 'It's not cheating, it's using my abilities.'

'All magic is cheating to me, it's weird stuff.'

'I'll agree with that. I don’t understand it myself, only how to use it.'

'That's the problem,' Gladiolus said, lifting a hand to muss up Noctis's hair playfully. 'Nobody quite understands it. Which is why you and the king have such a hard time.'

'Noctis, try to contain yourself,' Prompto said as he entered the room. 'But I have coffee. Ebony Coffee at that, your favourite.'

'Thanks Prom,' Noctis said, sitting himself up with effort, watching Prompto and Ignis cross the room laden down with trays. He didn't have the heart to tell his friend he wasn't really in the mood for it yet. Maybe if he drank it he'd feel a little more energised.

'Please try to eat something, prince,' Ignis said, setting his tray down on the bed while Prompto did the same.

It was the pleading tone in Ignis's voice more than hunger than made Noctis give in, and take a sandwich from the tray to go with his coffee, which seemed to relieve Ignis a little so that made it worth it. But the food tasted like ash in his mouth, and the coffee was so bitter it was hard to swallow. By the time he had finished his friends had polished off the rest of the food, and were chatting happily. Noctis laid back against his pillows, and fell asleep to the sounds of his friend's jokes. And hoped that when he woke up he'd feel a little more alive.

-

Two weeks passed, and despite sleeping more than ever Noctis just felt more tired. His birthday was a week away and the palace was abuzz with servants trying to get everything ready in time for the party, and for accommodating so many important guests.

Noctis was sat at a desk in one of the smaller libraries, reading through a thick book detailing the genealogies of the royal families. Ignis had insisted he brush up his studies to ensure that he could greet each guest by name, but Noctis was finding it hard to stay awake let alone recall the royal family of Altissa and how many prince and princesses there were. Because there were a lot; the previous king had been rather prolific.

Prompto set down a ceramic mug in front of him, which stirred him from his dozing. The blonde grinned. 'Still studying hard, buddy?'

'Something like that,' Noctis muttered, eyeing the steaming mug. Even the scent of the coffee wafting over to him made him feel ill.

The gunner sat down on a chair next to him and leaned against his shoulder while he read from the same page. 'Looks complicated. Want me to test you on them?'

'Not especially.'

Gladiolus snorted from where he was leaning against the wall. 'Yeah, because his highness has spent more time nodding off than reading this morning.'

Ignis glanced up from the newspaper he had been reading, sitting opposite from Noctis. 'Really, you need to take this seriously.'

'I'm trying,' Noctis said. 'It's hard to concentrate.'

'It's hard to concentrate when you don't fuel your body properly,' Ignis said, the stern tone of his voice trying to mask his concern. 'You're not eating properly again.'

'I'm trying with that, too,' Noctis said, the words coming out sharper than he had intended. But he was tired, and his head hurt, and the spirits of the dead were swarming around him again, leaning over his shoulders like Prompto was doing. Was it any wonder he'd lost his appetite when the dead wouldn't leave him alone, and the crystal drained every ounce of energy from him? He slammed the heavy book shut and shook Prompto off his shoulder. 'I'm done. I don't care if I get their names wrong, it's no big deal.'

'Noct-' Prompto began, and the hurt in his voice almost made Noctis give in.

'I need some air,' Noctis said instead, avoiding looking at any of his friends. He knew that if he did then he'd cave in and tell them all about the light and the souls that spoke to him and the goddess Etro that invaded his dreams. He didn't need to burden them with that. It was his own demon to face. If Stella was here at least he could have someone to talk to. He just had to hold out for another week and she'd be there, and maybe he could figure out how to stay sane.

As he left the room Gladiolus followed. Noctis spun around and glared up at the taller man. 'I want to get air _alone_.'

Gladiolus raised an eyebrow. 'I'm your bodyguard, remember? Kind of hard to guard your body when I'm not near it.'

'Well guard Ignis's body for a bit, then,' Noctis said grumpily. 'My body will be just fine. Ignis looks like he's about to have a meltdown though.'

'Prince-'

'I just want five minutes to myself,' Noctis snapped, and then he took off in a run. Where he got the energy from he had no idea; it was the desire to be alone with his thoughts that drove him forward, through the palace and out into one of the courtyards. It was as he was crossing the bridge over the koi pond that he realised it had been the place where he'd spoken to Stella once. He leaned over the railing and stared down into the crystal clear water. Orange, black and white fish rose to the surface, expecting food no doubt.

A soft golden spirit brushed by his ear.

_He wants the crystal._

Noctis shuddered, feeling hot and weak as the light passed by him. Another drifted past his other side.

_He'll stop at nothing. He's mad. Crazy for power._

Noctis gripped the railing as nausea rose within him. Another light gently caressed his cheek, and he saw a pair of familiar eyes. Eyes that had all but faded from his memory as she'd been gone for so long.

_Be careful. The crystal is tied to you. You have to stop him._

And then his mother faded from his sight. Noctis's eyes were damp with tears as he tried to bring her back, tried to latch on to the golden light that swirled all around and sort through the spirits to find the one he truly wanted to see. The one that might be able to help him. Who wanted the crystal? How was he supposed to stop it?

He slid to the ground as his energy failed him, and leaned against the railings of the bridge. Up above the sky was clear, the sun shone down warmly. But Noctis felt cold, so cold that he shivered. His arms went around himself for warmth but the trembling shook his body. He leaned back further and ran out of railing. His slender body slipped between the wooden railings, and he cried out in panic as he fell through the air. His scream was cut short as the water swallowed him up, and though the water wasn't deep his eyes were already falling closed. The spirits of the dead had sapped the last of his energy. And now he was going to become one of them. Panic set in and he let go of his breath; the bubbles from his mouth drifted up toward the light, and he hit the bottom of the pond with a slight thud, then floated up slightly. Maybe he'd be saved if he floated to the surface? But no, he just sort of hovered, and then even the light became dark. Something grabbed him, hauled him out of the water and he gasped for breath as he lungs began to fill with air again. He was dragged over to the edge of the pond and then more hands pulled him onto solid ground.

'Noct?' Prompto's quivering voice. 'Come on, don't do this. Should we do CPR?'

'No, he's breathing,' Ignis's calm voice. 'Give him a moment. Noctis? Open your eyes for me. Come on, I know you can do it. Just for five seconds, just let me know you're okay.'

'He better be alright,' Gladiolus's rough voice. 'What the hell was he playing at? I need to have words with him about self preservation.'

Noctis's eyes opened slowly, and it felt as if his eyelids were lined with sandpaper. His body was exhausted, but he was able to turn his head to see his friends. 'I'm getting far too used to seeing you guys from the floor.'

'I'll agree with that,' Gladiolus said, helping him up into a sitting position. 'Now remind me again about you not needing your body guarded?'

'Uh…yeah,' Noctis said, then sighed. 'Sorry.'

'S'okay, I think I've known you long enough to deal with your bratty side,' Gladiolus said. 'Does your royal butt require taking to bed now, though?'

'It could do with a few hours sleep, yeah.'

He managed to get to his feet with Gladiolus's help, and even made it all the way back to his bedroom. Ignis fussed over him, towelling him dry and then getting him fresh clothes from the wardrobe.

'Ignis,' Noctis said finally, when it looked like his friend was about to tuck him in. 'I'm just tired, I'm not dying.'

'If Gladiolus hadn't been there…'

'But I was,' Gladiolus said, squeezing Ignis's shoulder gently.

Ignis sighed, and his slim hands played with the edge of the covers anyway. 'I wish you'd just go to the healers. There might be something they can do for you. This is getting ridiculous, Noctis. You're sleeping more than ever and you're still tired. How long are you going to let it go on before you admit that something isn't right?'

With a sigh Noctis glanced up. The golden lights of the dead were calm now, nobody was trying to warn him of anything. The few spirits circling the room were happy enough to wander their lonely paths in silence and give him a moments respite. At times like this he almost felt awake. Who knew how many more of these moments he'd be afforded? It was breaking him, he knew it. And his friends knew it. That was why they were always on guard these days, ready for him to faint or fall ill again. He was putting them through this stress, and Ignis especially looked almost as worn out as he did.

'It's the light,' Noctis said finally, nerves knotting up inside him. He'd never spoken about this to anyone. For ten years he'd been able to see spirits but he'd kept quiet. Because who would believe a ten year old that claimed to see the dead? They'd think he was crazy.

'The light?' Ignis asked, setting himself down on the side of the bed. Prompto sat down on the other side, and Gladiolus leaned against one of the posts with his arms folded across his chest and a frown on his handsome face.

'You said about the light a few weeks ago,' Prompto said. 'When you collapsed in the bathroom. And I think I've heard you mumbling it before. When you're asleep, or drunk.'

Ignis's eyes turned sharply to Prompto. 'The prince does not get drunk.'

Prompto snorted. 'Oh the prince _so_ gets drunk.'

'What about the light?' Ignis encouraged. 'I don't understand.'

'It's not the normal light, it's…it's hard to explain. I started seeing it about ten years ago, do you remember when I was in that coma? I dreamed that the goddess Etro gave me a gift, and when I woke up I could see this golden light. It's the spirits of the dead. They can see me too, and they scream at me, trying to make me hear them. I can't block them out.'

'You…see the dead?' Gladiolus asked.

This was it. The exact reason that Noctis hadn't ever mentioned it to anyone. 'It's true, I swear. They're here now, even. They're always here and they always want my help, or for me to get revenge, or just to vent their anger against the living. I don't know why I can see them but I can and I can't stop it. But now they've started saying something else. They're warning me about the crystal, about someone who wants it but they won't say who. I think something's going to happen to our crystal. Maybe it'll break like all the others?'

'Prince…' Ignis began.

'What if ours breaks too? What will happen to my father and I if there's no crystal?'

'As you know, your family is bonded to the crystal…' Ignis tried again, pausing to order his thoughts. because he knew exactly what would happen, but he refused to even entertain the thought. The royal advisors had brought it up in several meetings, as there was only one crystal left in the world now. They needed contingency plans in case Lucis's failed too. But so far they hadn't come up with anything. 'The crystal won't fail. You'll be fine.'

'If it does?' Gladiolus asked.

Ignis could have kicked the taller man had he been close enough. 'It _won't_.'

'But if it does?' Prompto asked in a small, scared voice.

'I'll make sure it doesn't if it kills me,' Ignis said harshly, then swallowed hard, composing himself again. 'I won't let anything happen to Lucis's crystal, your highness. I swear to you.'

'Can you really see dead people?' Prompto asked, breaking the tension. 'Right now? They're all around?'

Noctis glanced up, at the serene gold spirits. 'Yeah.'

'Do they have faces?' Prompto asked. 'Can you see who they are? Can you find specific people?'

For a moment Noctis was quiet, fighting back the tears as he thought about his mother, and how she occasionally came to him. Seeing her dead like that was worse than not seeing her at all. The bitter pain of hearing her voice, then having her snatched away each time. 'No. There are thousands, all faceless. I can't identify them.'

'Damn,' Prompto said. 'Would have been cool to talk to people that have passed on.'

Sometimes Noctis wished he could be as innocent as Prompto. Instead he just offered his friend a small smile.

'Well, perhaps this "light" that you see has something to do with your fatigue?' Ignis considered. 'The king gets tired from the crystal, but if you have powers above and beyond his then it stands to reason that your body would run out of energy faster.'

'Probably,' Noctis said. It had been the theory he worked off anyway. 'So even if I went to see a healer, what can they do? You can't make the light go away, I've tried. They're always there.'

'But there might be energy supplements they can give you. Or drugs to help fight the tiredness.'

'I don't want to be taking medicine my whole life,' Noctis said. 'I'll learn to get over it.'

'No offence, your highness, but you haven't been doing such a great job of that lately,' Gladiolus's gruff voice said. 'You're looking a bit rough. Even soaking wet you barely weighed a thing. You need to look after yourself a bit better.'

'I just feel so sick lately,' Noctis explained.

'Well you're looking a little better now, you've got a bit more colour in your cheeks at least. Do you want to try something now?'

'I guess,' Noctis said. It was true; he wasn't feeling as bad as usual. And having talked about the light and not been laughed at it was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. So he managed a little of the lunch Ignis fetched for him, then he took a nap, while his friends guarded over him.

-

'How are you so good at this?' Gladiolus demanded, chucking his cards into the middle as Prompto grinned and scooped the gil up.

'Practice, baby. My dad taught me this before I learned to walk.'

'I'm not sure if that's the most impressive or the most depressing thing I've ever heard,' Ignis said while picking the cards up and shuffling for another round.

'It's how I used to get money when I was a kid, I'd bet against the older guys and win enough money to buy what I needed.'

'You had to buy your own clothes?' Ignis asked, feeling a pang of guilt for teasing.

'No, my mum got those. I mean things like sweets and bullets. Fun things.'

Ignis rolled his eyes. 'Sweets and bullets. You never fail to amaze me, Prompto.'

'And jagermeister,' Prompto said with a grin. 'You ever had jagerbombs, Ignis?'

Gladiolus smirked and looked up at the advisor. 'He had one once. He passed out drunk. Between him and Noctis they can't hold their liquor for crap.'

'We need to have a drinking contest someday,' Prompto decided.

'No thank you,' Ignis said, dealing the cards. He paused when he heard a moan, however, and turned to the bed. 'Your highness?'

Noctis moaned again, and turned onto his side with a gentle rustle of fabric.

'Still out like a light,' Prompto said. 'How long do you think he'll sleep for?'

'Not much longer, he's moving about again,' Gladiolus said. 'I'll go check he's okay.'

Ignis nodded, and once he had finished dealing the cards he watched as Gladiolus went to the bed and sat down beside the sleeping prince. Noctis was curled up on his side, one thin hand gripping the pillow tightly. He was frowning in his sleep and when Gladiolus reached down to brush the dark hair back from his pale face he paused.

'Problem; fever again,' Gladiolus said. 'What the hell is going on with you, Noct? I haven't seen you like this in…'

'Ten years,' Ignis finished.

Noctis was deeply asleep, and dreaming of the light again. Stella was there too, but instead of her usual advisory role in his dreams she was standing beside him. Her hand took his and a rush of warmth flooded through his body. She turned to him and said something, but there was no sound. Her lips moved but he couldn't make out what she was saying. When he asked her to repeat it, Stella's face morphed into the painting of the goddess Etro, swathed in the golden light of the dead.

_The crystal. Save the crystal. He wants its power, but he'll destroy everything. And you'll be the first to fall. Protect the crystal. Protect yourself._

That wasn't enough information. Noctis cried out, calling for her to return, but the gold faded to black. And suddenly he was awake, sitting up in bed still screaming, with a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. And - as per usual - a dozen faces staring at him in concern. He was seriously getting sick of this.

'Please relax, your highness,' said a woman in healer robes.

She gently pushed him back against his pillows, and somebody else picked up a cloth that had fallen off his forehead, and set it back in place. The wet cloth felt nice, which meant he had a fever again. Perfect. Nobody was ever going to take him seriously if he kept getting sick like this.

Regis was sitting on the bed next to him, and he suddenly looked older than his years. 'Son, how are you feeling?'

'Sick of people asking me that question,' Noctis said.

Regis smiled, and squeezed his son's arm gently, then frowned, looking down at the arm and how thin it was. 'God…Maya, what can we do for him?'

The healer stepped forward again. 'There are medicines I can give him to help with nausea, hopefully if he can eat again his body will be able to fight off whatever is making him sick.'

Noctis wanted to laugh, or cry. There was nothing to fight off what was making him sick; how did you fight the goddess herself? How did you make her release her hold on someone that she had chosen? But he allowed them to pass him a small bottle of red potion, and he drank it without complaint even though the taste ironically made him want to gag. After drinking it he did feel a little more settled, though.

'We can cancel your birthday celebration, I think in the circumstances it's for the best,' Regis said.

The disappointment in his voice was clear, though, and Noctis didn't have to be as smart as Ignis to know that the media would be all over it. And it wouldn't look good to portray the future king of the most powerful nation on the planet as weak. So with great reluctance Noctis tried to smile, and shook his head. 'I'll be fine. It should go ahead. I'll just sleep the whole day before it.'

'Are you sure?' Regis asked. But there was a light of hope in his eyes.

'I'm sure.'

'Thank you, son,' Regis said. 'I promise you can sleep as long as you want after the party.'

Noctis smiled properly that time. 'You'll regret that, you don't know how long I can sleep for.'

Regis's smile was sad, as he remembered the tiny ten year old who had slipped into a coma. 'Oh, I can imagine quite well.'

-

The next few days passed in a blur. Noctis found himself feeling a little stronger as the spirits of the dead mostly left him alone. It seemed that Etro's dream was the last warning he was to receive, and as such he was able to stay relatively awake and was back on his coffee.

On his birthday he slept in late. Very late. To make sure he had enough energy for the party he sleep into the early afternoon, until his friends decided enough was enough and invaded his bedroom en masse. Prompto took a flying leap at the huge bed and landed with a bounce beside his friend, waking him up in the process.

'Happy birthday!' Prompto yelled loudly.

Noctis grunted, and turned away from the chirpy blonde.

'Oh come on, don't be like that. You've got presents to open. Like seriously tonnes of presents. All the foreign guests are here already and everyone brought you something. And there's loads of gifts from the people in Lucis, too. You're going to be spending the whole weekend just unwrapping gifts. Can I unwrap some for you? Please? Pretty please? I love ripping the paper.'

'You can have them all,' Noctis said, his eyes still firmly shut.

'Oi. You can't be grumpy on your birthday, it's illegal,' Prompto insisted. 'Besides, there are some gifts you wanna open. Like mine.'

Noctis opened a single eye. 'Is yours legal?'

Prompto scratched the back of his head. 'Define _legal_ …'

That had him sitting up with a smile. Even more so when Ignis handed over a steaming mug of ebony coffee.

'How do you feel today?' Ignis asked.

'Good. Really good,' Noctis said, surprised at just how well he felt.

There was movement at the open door, then a surprised yelp. 'I'm sorry! I didn't expect you to still be in bed, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have come.'

The voice. It was slightly deeper than it had been when she was a young girl, but Noctis recognised it from his dreams. He set the coffee down and quickly shot out of bed, dressing quickly in black trousers and a black t-shirt, then he hurried out of the room.

'What was that about?' Prompto asked.

'Not a clue,' Ignis said, frowning.

Stella was halfway down the hall, but Noctis caught her up easily. She had grown into a striking young woman, almost as tall as he was with her shoes on. She was almost his contrast; blonde hair, white clothes. The light, where he was darkness.

'Uh, hey,' Noctis said.

She laughed. 'Still as awkward as ever, I see.'

'Well, yeah,' Noctis said, averting his gaze, then trying again. 'Have you been okay recently? Not sick or anything?'

She blinked. 'No. I've been fine, thank you. Yourself?'

'Yeah. Yeah I've been fine,' he lied. 'Just wanted to see how you were and stuff. No weird dreams about Etro?'

'Not recently,' she said. 'Why? Have you?'

'No,' he said.

'You're lying. You have to tell me everything, what did she tell you?'

Noctis didn't feel the need to tell Stella everything, but there was something she could help with. 'You don't know of anyone that might try to break Lucis's crystal? Or steal it or something? The spirits told me to protect the crystal, they seemed concerned about it.'

Stella's face softened. 'Well, it's no secret that the other kingdoms are all jealous that Lucis is now the only nation with a functional crystal. You have lots of hidden enemies, your highness. And…oh.'

'Oh?' Noctis asked.

'Well, it's just…think about it. If something's going to happen, when would be a better time? There are at least a hundred foreign dignitaries here and their staff. It's going to be a busy, confusing night. If there's going to be an attack on your crystal then you couldn't ask for a better opportunity.'

Suddenly everything slotted into place. Noctis's blood froze in his veins. 'Thank you, Miss Fleuret.'

'Anytime. We need to talk, though, about the light.'

'We just did,' Noctis called over his shoulder as he went back to his room.

Even if he hadn't seen their heads around the doorframe it would have been obvious that his friends had been spying on him. Gladiolus was leaning against the doorframe checking his nails, Prompto was staring intently at a painting on his wall by the door and Ignis was wiping a smear from the light switch. They all looked up innocently as he entered.

'Everything okay?' Ignis asked.

'Who's the girl?' Prompto interrupted eagerly.

'Subtle,' Gladiolus said, reaching out and ruffling Prompto's hair.

'Stella Nox Fleuret, of Tenebrae,' Noctis said. 'The only other person I know of that can see the light.'

Ignis adjusted his glasses. 'Oh?'

Noctis turned to his advisor. 'We need to protect the crystal. Tonight. Think about it; all these foreign nations here, a lot of them angry at us for having the last one. He's going to try and take it, or he'll destroy it maybe. I don't know. But this was what Etro was warning me about.'

'Who's going to try?' Gladiolus asked.

'I…I don't know,' Noctis admitted. 'Etro didn't say. But someone is. So can't we post more guards around the crystal or something? Just for tonight, just until they're all gone?'

'Of course,' Gladiolus said, nodding. 'Sensible suggestion, even if you hadn't had a vision. I'll go talk to Cor, see what we can do.'

'Thank you,' Noctis said, feeling a rush of relief as his body guard disappeared.

Then Prompto nudged his arm. 'So…you're into blondes?'

Noctis turned to his friend. 'Seriously? We're doing this now?'

'Just trying to work out your type, buddy. It's for your own good. The king of Lucis will need a queen, you know.'

'Well then yes I like blondes,' Noctis said, turning and blowing a kiss to Prompto, who didn't quite know what to make of it. 'Seriously, if I find someone, I find someone. Doesn't matter if they're dark, blonde, tall, fat, if I fall in love, then I fall in love. If I don't then Lucis will have to deal with a single king.'

Ignis smiled, and caught Noctis's eye. 'Well said. Now you need to get dressed in your suit; the masquerade ball will be starting in a couple of hours and you need to meet and greet before then.'

'Ugh,' Noctis groaned, and flopped back onto his bed. 'Remind me again why I agreed to this?'

'Because it's your duty as a prince,' Ignis said. 'Don’t worry, we'll be there with you. The crystal will be safe. And when you wake up tomorrow it will all be over.'

'And if you get drunk then I am so drawing a penis on your forehead.' Prompto grinned.

'I don't care. My father said I was allowed to sleep as long as I want after the party tonight, and I'm going to abuse that privilege. You might not speak to me again until my next birthday.'

'Aww, we'll be sad. But we'll take care of you; we'll dust you every so often,' Prompto said, poking Noctis in the ribs. 'Now up, get dressed. If I have to wear a suit then so do you.'

-

There were a lot of people. And they all recognised Noctis. Everybody wanted to say hello to the birthday boy, and unfortunately Ignis and Prompto were poor bodyguards so couldn't pull Noctis away as quickly as Gladiolus could. The taller man just had a presence that made people back off. So Noctis was rather glad when he saw Gladiolus making his way over, his tattoos hidden for the night under the neat black suit he wore. His long hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he looked rather serious, despite the occasion.

'Is Cor going to post extra guards around the crystal?' Noctis asked in a low voice.

Gladiolus nodded. 'Yeah. He already had. Apparently a lot of people had been asking to see it. You might be right, your highness, there may very well have been a plot or two to steal it tonight. There's so many people about. But don't worry, Cor has his best men guarding it. Nobody will get close.'

Noctis nodded, still feeling uneasy. He knew the knot in his stomach would only lessen once everyone was gone and the crystal was still fine. Something was pressed into his hand, and when he looked down he found himself holding an elegant black metal venetian mask, with blue sapphire jewels set in. It was a fancy design, and would cover both eyes and his nose.

'It's a masquerade party,' Ignis explained, tying his own on; the same design but with red ruby gemstones. Prompto had one with yellow topaz gems, Gladiolus one with emeralds.

'This is ridiculous,' Noctis said, but tied it on anyway. He had to admit his friends looked kind of cool with them on, and he wondered what he himself looked like. The other guests were starting to put theirs on, and there was an array of masks; some ceramic full face, others metal like his own, with varying colours and flourishes of feathers and other adornments. It was quite hard to tell who was who, so even if he had studied the genealogy book like Ignis had insisted upon he'd never have known people by name.

Someone touched his elbow and he turned to them. Even with the beautiful silver mask he recognised her. She was wearing a pearl white dress that clung to her slender curves, a stark contrast to his slim fitting dark black suit.

'May I have this dance?' she asked.

Noctis glanced back at his friends for an excuse not to. The traitors all smiled at him. Prompto even gave him a dorky thumbs up.

'I don't dance very well,' he muttered.

'Me either,' she said with a smile. 'Let's go and make fools of ourselves together.'

What could he say to that? He let himself be led to the large dance floor, and caught his father's eye. King Regis was smiling too. Was everyone determined to make his life hell? In her heels Stella was only slightly shorter than him, and he felt awkward holding her body close to his. He'd been educated on the proper way to dance, but with Stella everything felt wrong. He suddenly had no idea where to put his hands, and he felt so very awkward. Whereas she seemed at ease, and even leaned her head against his shoulder. The pale blue feather of her mask tickled his cheek.

'They spoke to me while I was getting ready for the party,' she said softly. 'They warned me about the crystal. You were warned too, weren't you? By the spirits of the light.'

'Yeah.'

'When they choose to speak to you like that, does it make you feel ill? Onecame so close she passed right through my body and I felt faint.'

Noctis's throat felt dry. 'Yeah, that happened to me too. Every time they came close I'd pass out, and feel sick.'

'Do you think the crystal is safe?' Stella asked.

'We have protection for it,' Noctis said confidently. If Cor had handpicked guards to protect it then there was no way it could be any safer.

'Good. Because if the last crystal breaks, those with a connection to it will…well, you know.'

Noctis frowned. The music changed into a beautiful waltz piece. He turned Stella in his arms and caught sight of Ignis, sipping champagne from a flute and speaking with a noble man. 'Nobody has actually told me what happens if there are no more crystals. I'm guessing I die, though.'

'Yes,' Stella said. 'Only worse. You'd never be reborn. You'd never be one of those golden lights in the sky. Your soul would be consumed, everything that is you would be erased from existence.'

'Why would I care, I'd be dead,' Noctis said.

'Why do you think the spirits are still here in the light? Etro has plans for them. One day they'll be reborn. But if you're not with them, then you won't get reborn.'

'The crystal is safe,' Noctis repeated. 'Why do you care if I'm reborn, anyway? I barely know you.'

She smiled. 'I wish I could say my intentions were humanitarian, but I have an invested interest in the crystal staying functional. So I hope that you're as confident as you seem, your highness. Etro has plans for you. For us. And if she thinks that the last remaining crystal might be harmed she'll step in.'

'Step in? And do what?' Noctis asked.

Stella looked up in his eyes. 'Protect us. The only way she can. And trust me, we don't want that.'

Noctis pulled away from her.

'It was nice dancing with you, prince,' she said, and then slipped away into the crowd.

A few seconds later a heavy arm was slung around his shoulders. 'You get all the luck,' Gladiolus said. 'Come on birthday boy, you'll miss the cake.'

'How can I miss the cake? It's huge.' Noctis asked.

'Because Prom's looking at it with huge wibbly eyes. You know he can't resist anything sweet.'

The party was a dull affair really. A lot more women wanted to dance with Noctis, and to keep international peace he gave them each a dance. Even the eighty year old lady who kept pawing at him the whole time. He deposited her into the arms of her husband and returned to his friends, downing half a flute of champagne to rid himself of the memories.

'You're doing well, your highness,' Ignis said. 'Not much longer to go now and the party will wind down. How are you feeling?' It hadn't escaped Ignis's notice that though Noctis had been drinking perfectly well he hadn't touched a single thing to eat.

'Tired, but just from all this damn dancing. I hate dancing.'

'Shame, you're so good at it. I was going to ask you next,' Prompto said.

'After this drink,' Noctis said with a smile, waving his glass. 'Gladio, any news on the crystal?'

'I checked in earlier, Cor said it was fairly quiet. A few more nosy guests just wanting to take a look, but nobody got close.'

Noctis nodded and drained the last of his champagne, feeling a buzzing in his head from the alcohol. 'Good.'

'Oi, I was serious. And you've finished your drink,' Prompto pointed out, then held out a hand. 'You owe me a dance.'

Noctis rolled his eyes, but took the offered hand and let himself be dragged back to the dance floor for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. Prompto looked good polished up; his hair wasn't as wild as usual, and he looked sharp in a black suit and tie, with proper shoes. Neither man seemed to know who should lead, though, and after a few seconds of awkwardly trying to place their hands they laughed and just grabbed each other and began making up the moves as they went. It was still far less awkward than the dance with Stella had been, even if he could see Cor face palming at them.

'This is nice,' Prompto said with a grin. 'And that mask really makes your eyes look pretty. They're so…wait, not blue. Why aren't your eyes blue?'

Noctis frowned. 'They're not blue? What colour are they?'

'Kinda gold? Yellowy gold. What does that mean? I've never seen that colour before. I know red means get out of the way you're using magic, or get out of the way you're pissed off at something. And green means you're sick, and pink means you're really happy, but gold? Give me a clue, buddy. We need a colour chart for you or something.'

Noctis had no idea what gold meant. True he was usually the only one who couldn't see his eye colour changes, so had to rely on what other people told him they saw. Nobody had ever mentioned gold. But the colour sounded too familiar for comfort, and when he looked up at the high ceiling he saw the light. There we hundreds of sprits in the room, thousands maybe, all moving about quickly as if they were agitated about something. Over the music and conversation of the party he hadn't been able to hear them but now he was concentrating on them it was hard to block them out.

_The crystal!_

_Stop him!_

_It's too late!_

'The crystal…' Noctis muttered, as he collapsed against Prompto.

'Whoa, hey there, you okay?' Prompto asked, suddenly finding himself with an armful of prince. He pulled Noctis's arm over his shoulder and helped him off the dance floor. 'Think you drank too much, maybe?'

'The crystal. The light…' Noctis muttered, and suddenly the light was everywhere. It was all he could see. The voices were all he could hear. Until someone was tapping his cheek gently. He was on the floor again. Great.

'Highness?' Ignis asked, worriedly. 'Thank god, are you alright?'

As Noctis came around he noticed several things. First was that Gladiolus was missing from the usual group that stared down at him when he woke up from collapsing. Second was that the music had stopped. Third, a lot of people were talking in hurried confusion.

'What's going on?' he asked.

'You fainted again,' Ignis said. 'But this time you weren't alone. Your father collapsed, and so did the girl you were dancing with earlier.'

Noctis let that sink in, then sat up sharply. Across the room he could see the white of Stella's dress, but she was sitting up too. Her eyes met his briefly, and even from the distance he could recognise the golden light in them. Her eyes had changed colour too. Not far away King Regis was also sitting up, Cor was behind him, trying to get him to lay back down again. Healers were already rushing over to the fallen king.

'The crystal,' Noctis said.

Ignis supported him as he tried to get to his feet. 'You were talking about the crystal as you fainted, Gladiolus went off right away to check on it. Don't worry, I'm sure it's fine.'

Noctis didn't share that confidence. The three people tied to the crystal and the light had all collapsed at the same time, which was no coincidence. Something was going on. And Noctis was worried that this was what Stella had meant by Etro's plan. If the crystal was in danger, and Etro still needed him, what would she do? The answer was strikingly simple. She'd do what she did before; freeze them in time until the threat was over.

Suddenly there was commotion at the main doors. Guards were marching in, with Emperor Idola of Niflheim in tow. King Regis was back on his feet by now, and stared down at the emperor as he was brought before him.

'There's been a terrible misunderstanding, your majesty,' Idola said, with a snake-like smile.

A guard spoke up. 'We found him and his men by the crystal. They attacked the men guarding the crystal.'

King Regis glared. 'I don't need to remind you this is the last crystal our planet has. It has to be kept safe.'

'Who says its safe with you?' Idola asked, then composed himself. 'I simply wished to study it. I thought that perhaps by taking readings from the crystal I might reactivate my own crystal.'

'I can send you any data you'd like, but please respect Lucis's wishes for the crystal to remain undisturbed.'

'Of course. My humblest apologies,' Idola said.

Gladiolus returned, and clapped a large hand on Noctis's shoulder. 'You were right. That old geezer from Niflheim would have tried something funny. His men attacked the guards and he got close to the crystal but I don't think he managed any harm. It's still glowing.'

'We'll have people take a look at it right away, to ensure no damage has been done,' Ignis assured the prince.

'Thank you,' Noctis said, feeling a little brighter now that the threat had been averted. He leaned against one of the tables while Ignis tried to press a glass of water into his hands, saying he still looked a little pale. Noctis was sure he did look pale; if the crystal died, so did he. He sipped the water and glanced over to where Stella was sat down, with ladies fussing over her and fanning her. She caught his gaze and smiled. Her eyes were blue again.

Crisis averted, the party wound down after that. As Noctis was about to say goodnight to his father Stella caught his arm. She removed her mask and smiled at him. 'Thank you. For the dance, and for…the crystal.'

'Well, I need it too.'

'But still, thank you,' she said. Then she frowned. 'Your eyes…such strange gold. I thought they were blue?'

Noctis froze. He'd hoped he'd been imagining the wave of nausea. That perhaps he'd drunk too much alcohol. But now that Stella had pointed out his eyes he felt weak, and he could see the gold creeping in to her own eyes. 'Yours too…' he whispered, and suddenly the two of them were clutching at each other, trying to stay standing.

There was a yell from the other end of the ball room; people went rushing over as the King of Lucis collapsed for a second time that evening. From the corner of his eye Noctis saw three figures rushing against the crowd, toward him. They knew what was going to happen.

Frantically Noctis met Stella's gaze. This time felt different. As if someone was dragging his soul free from his body. They went down in a heap, unconscious before anyone could reach them.

The room was in a state of panic. Both king and prince of Lucis were unconscious, and nobody seemed to quite know what to do. The healers didn't know who to go to first, the guards didn't know who to protect them from, since it seemed clear they were under attack somehow. People were shouting that the champagne or food had been poisoned. But Ignis knew better as he skidded to a stop and dropped to his knees beside Noctis, drawing the younger man into his arms. Gladiolus carefully laid Stella out on her back, and used his jacket to pillow her head as her parents came rushing over to her aid.

Ignis looked up at his friends. 'He's cold. Like ice.'

'Like that time…' Prompto said. 'But that can't be happening again, right? It can't be. And the king too? And that girl? Maybe there really was poison?'

'Why would they poison my daughter?' Stella's mother cried, cradling the young woman close to her. 'What has Stella ever done? Lucis brings nothing but trouble!'

'Now what do we do?' Prompto asked, ignoring the hysterical woman.

'Take him to bed. And hope he wakes up faster than last time,' Ignis said sadly.

-

Stella was given VIP guest quarters. King Regis was taken to his room. Idola was marched to the dungeons, along with his men. Despite interrogation, however, he insisted he had done nothing to crystal, and he had no idea why it should be losing power like it was. All he had done was observed it, he claimed.

Noctis was in his room, on his bed, sleeping the days away peacefully as if he was dead. He had a tube in one nose like he had last time he'd fallen into a sleep like death, providing him with hydration and nutrients. Still he was thinner than ever, and looked deathly pale against the sheets.

Prompto sat beside him, stroking the hair back from his eyes. 'I always hate waiting for him to wake up. I'm always scared that maybe one time he won't. If the crystal stops working, will he…?'

'His connection will be severed, and it's likely it will be such a shock to the system that he will die,' Ignis said matter of factly. Even as he was trying to hold back the tears. He'd failed. He'd promised Noctis that he'd keep him safe and he'd failed, and he had no idea how to make the crystal work again. It was losing power each day, it's light growing dimmer just as Noctis's life did. He sat on Noctis's other side, with the thin hand in his own. With his free hand he ran a thumb over the high bone in Noctis's cheek, then down across the sunken cheek. Noctis's collarbone stuck out harshly from the neckline of his shirt, and Ignis felt sick with worry afresh. His friend was dying. And though he'd come around in time last time it had happened, who knew if he'd do the same this time?

There was a loud smash, which startled the two men. When they looked over it was to see Gladiolus with his fist pressed up against a huge crack in the wall. 'Sorry,' he muttered, not sounding sorry. If Ignis felt guilty for not protecting Noctis, then Gladiolus felt ten times worse.

Ignis rose and went over to Gladiolus, taking the larger hand in his own and fussing over the injury. At least this was something that he could help with, something that he could do. For Noctis there was nothing, except watch him waste away.

'What happens if both the king and the prince die?' Prompto said. 'What does that mean for Lucis?'

'The senior advisor would take the role of leader until a referendum can be undertaken. We'd vote for a new royal family,' Ignis said. 'But they're not going to die.'

'I know, I know they're not. Noctis isn't allowed to die, I've told him that before. I just wondered,' Prompto said, looking away from Noctis. Because seeing him with dark shadows under his eyes like that made it hard to believe that he could pull through. 'How is the king, and the girl?'

'Stella is fine. Sleeping away like Prince Noctis. The king is suffering from a chest infection. Cor looked terrible this morning, I think he's been keeping watch the whole time by himself. He doesn't trust anyone. And he's been interrogating Idola. He's taking this very badly.'

'Yeah, and like we're not?' Prompto said, casting meaningful glances at Gladiolus and Ignis. They were all under stress; looking drawn and tired as the worry for their friend took its toll on their bodies.

'The king is older than either Noctis or Stella. It may be that his body will deteriorate faster,' Ignis mused.

'Well last time Noctis almost succumbed to illness,' Gladiolus pointed out. 'He had every infection going, his organs almost shut down.'

'He's older now, stronger,' Ignis said, hoping that it was true. But unfortunately Noctis hadn't been particularly well before his sleep. Ignis was worried that it might weaken him.

'What can we do about the crystal, though? If that thing goes out then so does the prince,' Gladiolus said, flexing his fingers to get rid of the ache from punching the wall.

'I'm not sure,' Ignis said.

'So we just hope it fixes itself?' Prompto asked. 'I don't like the chances of that. Not considering how many crystals the world has lost over the last few years. This is kind of our last one.'

'You think I don't know that?' Ignis said. 'If there was anything I could think of that could help him…I mean the crystal…I'd do anything.'

A large hand patted his shoulder. 'We know, Iggy. We know. We're all trying our best to keep it together here. And we're not really succeeding.'

'We're not,' Prompto said sadly, stroking Noctis's hair again. Because really it was the only thing he could do for his friend.

-

Noctis coughed. Ignis panicked. The healers were called in. Noctis was diagnosed with a chest infection and started on antibiotics, while Ignis pulled at his own hair and paced the room.

'You're gonna wear a hole in the carpet,' Prompto said, but there was no enthusiasm to his voice.

'This is how it started before,' Ignis said, not really hearing Prompto. 'He's going to get infections, and then his organs will shut down and then he'll…he'll…'

'He's tough, he'll be fine,' Gladiolus said confidently, from his position perched on the bed. His large calloused hand gently held Noctis's thin one, his fingers threading between his prince's, marvelling at how someone could lose so much muscle mass from lying still for so long and still be alive. Noctis's narrow chest rose and fell shallowly, his breathing barely noticeable at all. It was the same for Stella and Regis, apparently.

As the days wore on the light of the crystal faded further, the energy levels barely detectable on the palace's equipment. Stella caught the chest infection too, and from then on each patient was designated their own team of healers, to minimise the risk of passing infections on to each patient. Anyone visiting any of them had to wash their hands first, and wear masks so as not to breath in germs. Touching was prohibited, but that didn't stop Noctis's friends who felt that hand holding, hugs and touching were therapeutic. And it helped comfort them, too, being able to feel Noctis and know that he was still clinging to life, if only just.

When Noctis's catheter ran red with blood he was given antibiotics for a urine infection, brought on by dehydration. His fluids were already on the maximum dosage. Then the healer noticed white spots on his tonsils, and a fresh prescription for tonsillitis was issued. When his breathing started becoming noisy, and coming out in little gasps, the healers grew grave. Heart and lung failure, they said. They were going to make him comfortable. There was nothing more they could do.

Ignis was polite as he saw the healers out, then he slammed the door so hard the walls shook.

'He could get a transplant?' Prompto suggested.

'What good would it do?' Ignis said. 'The problem isn't the organs. Noctis's body is shutting down. If he were to survive surgery the new organs would go the same way.'

Prompto gripped Noctis's hand tightly. His friend's skin had gone from pale to ashen, as his body began to slowly shut down. He lay down beside Noctis, and pressed up close to the frail body.

A knock on the door interrupted their thoughts, and the door opened slowly as Cor stepped inside. His face was grim, and he looked exhausted. But there was a hard light of determination in his eyes. 'How's the prince?'

'Dying,' Gladiolus said simply, swallowing back a lump in his throat.

Cor nodded, as if he was taking it in. 'The king too.'

'And the girl?' Ignis asked.

'Probably. But my main concern is the royal family,' Cor said. 'The crystal has almost gone out. They're predicting by this evening it will be completely dead.'

'So what's your plan?' Gladiolus asked. 'You wouldn't be here if you didn't think you could fix it. You'd be with the king in his final hours.'

Cor grunted. 'It's not so much of a plan, but I do need your help. All of you.'

'How can we help?' Prompto asked, perking up a little. The chance to actively do something that might be of benefit was something he'd jump at.

'I'm going to re-interrogate Idola. Without the advisors this time.'

Prompto didn't even try to hide his disappointment. 'That's _it?_ That's the plan? To talk to someone?'

Cor cracked his knuckles. 'I didn't say I was gonna talk, did I?'

The dungeon was quiet and cold as they descended the stone steps into the darkness. Light came from sconces on the walls, holding flickering torches that cast long shadows on the walls. It was creepy. Perfect for what Cor had planned. His boots rang our heavily in the corridors, until he came to a cell at the end of the corridor. Through thick metal bars Idola glared at him.

'You can't keep me here forever. Niflheim's army will tear Insomnia apart to find me.'

'Yeah, they probably will,' Cor said. 'But they'll get you back soon. Tonight, probably. How they get you back is entirely up to you; cooperate and we'll let you walk free. If the crystal dies, though, they'll be getting you back in a body bag.' Cor flicked the door to the cell open and sprang forward, grabbing Idola by the front of his shirt and slamming him hard against the wall. 'If the king dies so do you.'

'Is that supposed to be a threat?' Idola asked, glancing behind the large man. 'Are those your lackeys? The one with tattoos is impressive, but I have to say I'm surprised at the other two. Lucis must be desperate to employ them as their hired muscle.'

Ignis approached the cell, his glasses reflecting the fire and casting him in an ethereal glow as his calm stare looked down on the old man. 'My closest friend is lying in a coma, possibly because of something you have done. If he dies because of you there will be nothing that could stop me tearing your spine from your body.'

Gladiolus swallowed hard, having never seen this side to his usually calm friend. In an act of solidarity he stood beside him, though, and cracked his knuckles as he'd seen Cor do. 'My best friend too, and I don't pull my punches.'

Not to be left out Prompto swept back his jacket, so that Idola got a full glimpse of the illegal firearm at his hip. 'Best thing about these dungeons is that there's nobody around to hear you scream. Or hear a bullet being fired. We can make you disappear like magic.'

'So we'll ask you again,' Cor said evenly, tightening his fist around the bunched up shirt and slamming Idola against the stone wall. 'What the hell did you do?'

Idola was not a brave man when he didn't have his guards around him. The shard he had managed to chip from the crystal during the confusion of the attack on the guards was returned to them, having been hidden in the lining of his coat. The fragment was reattached to the crystal, and all that was left to do was to hope that it was enough to save it. And that it could recharge itself.

-

The evening passed quietly, with Noctis laying in bed surrounded by his friends. Nobody knew if it would be his last night, and nobody was willing to sleep in case it was. He was their friend - their brother - and if he was going to die then he sure as hell wasn't going to die alone. But as the sun rose and pale light entered the bedroom, Noctis lived on.

Over the next few days his friends barely slept at all, and Ignis was the only person to leave the room, to check on the crystal. Reports stated the energy readings were growing steadily but he needed to see that for himself. He needed to see the spikes on the screens, the glow of the crystal, the hum of magic in the air. And as he watched the crystal return to life he prayed that it could restore Noctis, too.

The first piece of good news came from a servant, who knocked on the door a few days later and announced that Lady Stella Nox Fleuret had awoken. She was taken back to Tenebrae almost immediately by her worried parents.

Two days later King Regis awoke, weakened from his ordeal but able to speak and lucid enough to ask about his son. And the state of the crystal. He'd had the strangest dream that the goddess Etro had warned him about it.

All that was left was Noctis, who was still unconscious a further two days later, though the healers were confident his organs were growing stronger.

'He had the light to deal with, _and_ the crystal. Stella only had the light. The king only had the crystal. So it makes sense he's the last to wake up, right?' Prompto said, trying to abate his worry with logic. He'd seen Ignis do it enough times, he wanted to try it for himself.

'Technically, yes,' Ignis said, adjusting his glasses. 'But still, I'll be happier once he's awake.'

'Well yeah, we all will,' Prompto said.

'At least then he'll be able to eat something. I doubt he could even hold a phantom sword in this state, I'll need to work on his training when he's back on his feet,' Gladiolus said sadly, brushing back hair from Noctis's face. It needed cutting.

Prompto sighed. 'Isn't there anything we can do to help him wake up faster? Can we supercharge the crystal, or maybe bring him closer to it or something? Would that help?'

Ignis made a sound of irritation. 'I don't think that's appropriate. It's…'

At the pause Prompto lifted his gaze. 'It's what?'

'It's perhaps not a terrible idea.'

'You don't have to sound so surprised, I do have ideas occasionally.'

'Yes but they're usual awful ones,' Ignis said dismissively. 'However perhaps a closer proximity to the crystal might actually help re-establish his bond.'

'Problem,' Gladiolus said. 'That's a seriously big crystal, and as big as Noctis's bedroom is, it ain't gonna fit.'

'No, it will be easier to take the prince to the crystal. Unfortunately I can't imagine the king would agree to that. Or the healers. We have no evidence that it will work, after all.'

'But we have to try something,' Prompto said, slipping his hand in Noctis's. 'Look at him. He looks dead.'

Ignis sighed. 'Indeed. It may just be worth the risk. But we'll have to get him down to the crystal without anyone seeing us. We're going to need a distraction. Prompto? Think you can cause a stir?'

The blonde grinned. 'My speciality.'

'Excellent. While Prompto is causing havoc we'll get the prince down to the crystal. I'll go ahead and make sure the coast is clear, Gladiolus are you okay to carry him?'

'You kidding me? He barely weighed a thing before, now look at him.'

'Indeed,' Ignis said. 'Well, be careful with him. He's a bit more…delicate, now.'

'You're telling me,' Prompto said, gently tracing Noctis's sharp cheekbone with his thumb. He poked at the tube going down the prince's nose. 'We'll need to unhook him. Anyone know how to do that without pulling out his insides?'

'I've seen the healers do it before, I should be able to remove the tubes safely,' Ignis said, though he hesitated as he approached the sleeping prince. The tube down his nose went right to his stomach, and he could do serious damage taking it out too quickly. He unstuck the tape holding the tube to Noctis's nose, removed the suction then he slowly pulled the tube out, wincing at the discomfort it should have caused. Noctis didn't flutter an eyelid. Gladiolus was by his side, gently wiping Noctis's nose clean.

'It's like he's a kid again, remember how we used to have to do stuff like this for him when he was younger?' Gladiolus asked fondly.

'I remember he'd keep trying to wipe his nose with his sleeve whenever he had a cold,' Ignis said with a soft smile. 'I was forever offering him a handkerchief.'

'No, you were forever wiping his nose for him, you spoiled him way too much,' Gladiolus chuckled.

'Perhaps. I'd do it a thousand times now without complaint if he'd just open his eyes for me.'

Gladiolus sighed, and ran a large hand through Noctis's hair. 'I know how you feel. But we'll bring him back. This will work. You'll see, we'll have our bratling back in no time.'

Ignis drew back the covers, revealing the prince's thin form. He wore black satin pyjamas, which were a pain to change when the person was unconscious. He was so thin they hung off his slender frame, and he looked much younger than his twenty-one years. Carefully Gladiolus slipped his arms underneath Noctis's back and knees, frowning as he felt the discs of Noctis's spine. When he lifted Noctis into his arms it was like he was a child again, and Gladiolus cradled him protectively to his chest. This close he could hear the prince's laboured breathing; the chest infection still lingered, though he was too asleep to even cough.

'Careful with him,' Ignis said, fussing over the prince, making sure he was secure in the bodyguard's arms. 'Do you think we should wrap him in a blanket?'

'He'll only be out of bed for a few minutes, I'll keep him warm,' Gladiolus promised.

'Wow. Seeing him like that he looks…he needs to wake up and get better.' Prompto decided, reaching for Noctis's limp hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, scared he might break the bones.

'Well, hopefully the crystal can help him. God knows it takes enough from him, perhaps this time it can be used to heal him,' Ignis said. 'Are we ready?'

Gladiolus and Prompto nodded, and the blonde hurried out of the room. A few seconds later there was a huge crash, and several shouts.

'Hope whatever it was wasn't _too_ expensive,' Gladiolus said with a grimace, as something else smashed.

'Let's get moving,' Ignis said, and the two men hurried out of the bedroom.

Down the staircase they could see Prompto bowing low, apologising profusely as several people picked up pieces of broken vase. He caught their gaze and gave them a discreet thumbs up, so they hurried on. Ignis went first, making sure that nobody was about before waving Gladiolus on. They only met one servant, and Gladiolus hid in a small room while she ambled past, then they were on their way again, down to the ground floor, then to the huge chamber where the crystal was kept.

Of course it was guarded. And of course they were spotted as soon as they entered. By the very worst person possible.

'What are you two doing- _Is that the crown prince?'_ Cor Leonis spluttered, storming over to them.

Gladiolus glanced down at the dark bundle in his arms. Noctis lay limp in his arms like a rag doll. 'Uh, well…'

'What the hell are you playing at? He needs to be in bed. He needs that tube down his throat giving him liquids and medicine. King Regis would have a fit if he knew what you were doing. Do you have any idea the danger you've put him in? What on earth possessed you to do this?'

'We thought that bringing him to a closer proximity to the crystal it might re-establish his bond and help him wake up,' Ignis said. The plan had sounded sensible in his head, but now that he was voicing it to someone several inches taller, several pounds of muscle heavier than himself and with a glare that would stop a behemoth in its tracks, Ignis suddenly felt less sure of himself.

'You thought…I don't know whether you're delusional or just plain stupid. His highness is gravely ill, and you've taken away the things helping him stay alive, and dragged him out in the cold to come and visit a lump of rock.'

'…Yes,' Ignis said. When you put it like that it was a horrible idea, really. Already he could hear a change in Noctis's breathing; he was gasping in short little breaths, struggling to breathe. Ignis swallowed hard, guilt rising within him.

'Hey guys is he…ah. Oh.' Prompto skidded into the room, and realised the situation. He smiled sheepishly as Cor's glare focused on him. He'd always had the distinct feeling Cor thought of him as a nuisance, but today he was honestly worried for his life. 'Um, maybe I should leave?'

'Why am I not surprised that the fugitive is in on this?' Cor asked. 'Take him back to bed. _Now_. Find him a healer and get them to reverse the damage you've done. And so help me if the prince doesn't make it then I will see to it that all three of you are locked up until the day Etro is reborn.'

Prompto carefully came up to stand beside Gladiolus, and cast a glance at Noctis, whose face was screwed up as he struggled weakly to take in each breath. He coughed weakly, a horrible, wet sound. That got Prompto's attention. 'Hey, guys?'

'Prom, love you man, but I don't think now is the time,' Gladiolus said, trying to back away slowly from Cor.

'No, seriously, he coughed!' Prompto said, delighted.

'Yes, because you've dragged him out of bed,' Cor said furiously. 'He's probably caught pneumonia now on top of everything else. For people that are supposed to protect him you're doing a pretty lousy job. Listen to that cough, he probably won't even make it back to his room. Lay him down here, I'll call a healer-'

Prompto rolled his eyes. 'He's coughing. That's good, right? He was so deeply asleep before the healers said he couldn't even cough so if he's coughing then-'

'He's waking up,' Ignis realised, in disbelief. 'Gladio, put him down.'

The muscled man gently laid Noctis down on the floor, cradling his upper body close to keep him comfortable. Ignis bent over the prince, and pressed slim fingers to Noctis's throat. The pulse was much stronger than it had been. His breathing was terrible, but even that gave Ignis hope; that Noctis's body was able to acknowledge the symptoms of his illnesses was a start, rather than just laying still and comatose.

Cor crouched down, and placed a large hand on Noctis's narrow shoulder. 'He needs to be in bed. He needs a healer.'

'He needs to wake up, and that's what he's doing. Look! Look his eyes just moved,' Prompto said, leaning over Gladiolus's shoulder.

Noctis's eyes had indeed opened a fraction. The world was slowly starting to come back to him, the sounds of people talking, and of a heart beating close to his ear. The feel of the cool air on his skin. The scent of the air around him. And when he managed to crack his eyes open the gold of the light as the spirits floated high above, content to watch him from a distance now that the danger had passed. As Etro had told him before she'd allowed him to wake; the crystal was safe now. There was no need to keep him in a state of sleep any longer.

'Hey there sleeping beauty,' Gladiolus said, a huge grin splitting his face. If his eyes were shining it certainly wasn't through tears, or so he told himself. The joy at seeing Noctis's eyes finally open definitely wasn't making him overly emotional.

Prompto wasn't even going to try denying how happy he was. He laughed and slapped Gladiolus's shoulder. 'He's awake! He's awake he's awake he's awake! Iggy, he's awake!' Prompto said, running to the taller man and leaping up into his arms for a hug. Ignis was so happy himself that he caught the blonde and spun him in a half circle before setting him down and crouching again by Gladiolus, wanting to check again to be sure.

'Highness?' Ignis asked, and allowed himself a tender smile as Noctis's half lidded sleepy eyes turned to focus on him. Ignis lifted a hand to gently cup his cheek, then rested his forehead against Noctis's. 'Welcome back, my prince.'

Gladiolus carried him back to bed, and a healer was called. Noctis leaned back in his pillows and endured a thorough check over, but only nodded or shook his head when asked questions. When the healer left he sank back against his pillows and closed his eyes again.

'Oh no you don't,' Prompto said. 'We've been watching you sleep for weeks, you're gonna wake up right this minute and promise us you're feeling better and not gonna fall back into another coma.'

There was a moment when it seemed Noctis's eyes would remain closed, but then he opened them again. 'Father said…could sleep as much as I wanted after the party.' Noctis said in a dry, raspy voice that hadn't been used in so long.

That was enough for Prompto, he grinned and shook his head. 'Dork. Alright, sleep. I've just been worrying about your royal butt all this time, if you don't want to talk to me see if I care.'

'Kay,' Noctis said with a slight quirk of his lips. Then he fell asleep. A proper sleep, to rest his aching body.

-

Noctis slept through until the next morning, and there were real fears he'd slipped into another coma. But as the sunlight filtered in through the windows Noctis's eyes blinked open and he yawned. He slowly turned his aching head to look out of the window, and caught sight of Ignis perched on a chair by his bedside, reading the newspaper and eating a bowl of cereal. He must have realised someone was watching him as he lifted his gaze, then jumped as he realised Noctis was awake.

'Prince! How are you feeling?'

'Like I got run over,' Noctis said, smiling weakly. 'Must have been one hell of a party.'

'It's one I won't forget in a hurry,' Ignis admitted, placing the paper and bowl down and shuffling closer to Noctis. 'You’ve been terribly ill your highness, the healers have suggested a menu of supplements to help restore your health. They have potions in them too, and the antibiotics to help you fight the infections. But you'll be back on your feet in no time, you'll see.'

Noctis tried to smile. The idea of nutritional supplements sounded gross, but Ignis looked so worried he'd agree to anything to help relieve his stress. 'Okay. Do I have to have them now?'

'Kind of, you do look like a skeleton,' Gladiolus said, getting up from his own seat. Prompto was just waking up from his position on a put up bed on the floor, and he sprang up when he realised Noctis was awake.

'It's meant to taste like strawberries, but I tried a bit of one and it's pretty clear the people that made it have never actually tasted a strawberry in their lives,' Prompto said.

'Really selling it there, Prom,' Noctis said, allowing Gladiolus to sit him up and help him lean back against the pillows. The discs of his spine were still far too visible for Gladiolus's liking, so he handed over a glass of the mixture they'd been keeping on hand. Noctis took it in slightly trembling hands, and looked down at the thick pink milkshake. Then he looked up at Ignis. 'You're not serious?'

Ignis smiled apologetically. 'It has everything you need to get well.'

'Think I'd rather be sick,' Noctis said. 'In fact I might _actually_ be sick if I drink this, it looks…' He caught the pained look on Ignis's face. He sighed. He brought the glass to his lips. And by Etro it was disgusting; Prompto was right, clearly the makers had no concept of what a strawberry should taste like. 'How much of this do I have to drink?'

'The whole thing, your highness,' Gladiolus said, patting his shoulder gently. 'You'll get used to it.'

Noctis didn't get used to it, and the healers couldn't understand why he wasn't getting better as fast as they predicted. They didn't realise that his friends were drinking half of it for him, or else tipping it in plants pots to get rid of the last dregs.

When he was finally allowed out of bed the first place he went was the crystal. They were back down to minimum guards, and Noctis was able to walk right up and place his palm on the surface, feeling the energy pulsing beneath his hand. It was comforting to know it was still there, but worrying that Lucis had come so close to losing the crystal. As he stood there Noctis made a promise to himself; that he would always guard over the crystal. Nothing would ever happen to it so long as he still breathed. Because if it did, who knew what Etro would do to those with ties to it? He'd been lucky twice, but he wasn't willing to bet on a third time.

No, the crystal would have to stay right where it was. Forever.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be the last chapter, but then I had a rather evil idea for a third part. ^^
> 
> Thank you to everyone that's reading, leaving kudos and comments on this! You rock! ♥


	3. The Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party has arrived at Niflheim, and the time has come to retrieve the crystal and take down Emperor Idola.
> 
> Etro warns Noctis that a final sacrifice needs to be made, that the outcome of the war depends on it. Noctis must make the impossible deicison to sacrifice his friends to save thousands of innocent lives and end the war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: chapter contains sort-of character death.

'He's getting harder to wake,' Gladiolus said, frowning as he tapped the prince's cheek harder than he ever would have dared a few weeks ago.

But times had changed, and so had the prince. Since the invasion of Lucis the prince had been getting sleepier and sleepier, and harder to rouse each morning. And harder to keep awake once he was up and about. More than once he'd fallen asleep halfway through his meal, and once he'd even managed to fall asleep in the few seconds the party had turned their backs to decide which fork in a path to take. The prince had simply leaned against a rock and fallen asleep. And woken up quite sharply when he slipped to the floor.

Ignis shuffled closer to the sleeping man, and shook his narrow shoulder gently. Then roughly. 'Highness. We really must be getting on with our journey. We're nearly done, then I promise you can sleep all you want.'

Prompto finished playing with his hair and crawled over too, completing the team. He poked Noctis in the ribs. 'C'mon, buddy. Rise and shine.'

Finally Noctis groaned, but only managed to half roll over and swipe a lethargic arm at his friends in an attempt to make them stop trying to drag him into the waking world.

With a collective sigh his friends sat back on their heels. 'Well we're going to be driving anyway,' Prompto pointed out. 'Gladio, can't you just carry him to the car?'

'It would be nice for him to actually see part of the day though, I'm getting worried about how much he's sleeping. We really don't want to risk him slipping into one of Etro's sleeps, not when we're so close to Niflheim,' Ignis said.

Gladiolus folded his arms across his broad chest. 'At least he'll be rested for when we take down Idola and get the crystal back. Better for him to sleep now than in the middle of the battle.'

'He could probably manage both, he's really good at sleeping,' Prompto said.

In the end they didn't really have much choice but to transfer the sleeping man into the car, as it proved impossible to wake him up. The three men then packed up the tent and started back on the main road toward Niflheim. As the day wore on and they got closer to the capital, Ignis began drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. As they crossed the border into Niflheim the road surface became bumpier, less well kept. Houses down in the streets below the highway were in disrepair, and imperial army aircarriers crossed the grey sky with the low drone of hover units.

Finally Ignis pulled off into a service area, then drove further past it into the clearing of a small woodland.

Prompto frowned. 'You have not reached your destination. You screwed up, so turn around at the nearest opportunity,' he mimicked the satnav voice, and turned to his friend. 'Why are we here?'

'We're in Niflheim; there will be imperial troops and drones everywhere, along with security cameras. And we're about to come up to the first checkpoint. The three of us may be able to pass through without raising alarm, however the prince is rather well known.'

'Ah, good point,' Prompto said, turning in his seat to look at the dark haired man. 'We could stick him in the trunk?'

'Prompto!' Ignis said sharply.

'He's asleep, he wouldn't know. It would only be until we passed the checkpoint.'

'We _are not_ stuffing the crown prince into the boot of this car,' Ignis said.

'Could stuff him in the footwell?' Gladiolus suggested. 'He's small enough, I could lay my legs across him to hide him.'

Ignis rubbed his temples. This was why he usually devised the plans and never asked for input. 'That won't work either. We can't take the Regalia. It's plastered with signs of Lucis; the number plate is rather conspicuous. As soon as a guard gets a look at it we'll be questioned thoroughly. And they'll check both the boot and the footwell and either execute us on the spot or imprison us and execute us later.'

'I'd like to vote for an option that doesn't involve execution,' Prompto said nervously. 'As much as I love this car, it ain't worth dying over.'

'Indeed. We need a new automobile,' Ignis said.

Gladiolus groaned. 'How many behemoths are we going to have to take down to pay for that?'

'We don't have time to raise the funds. I was rather hoping that perhaps Prompto could put his old skills to use.'

'Iggy I love all your plans, but I'm really not sure how tying a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue is going to help us out here,' Prompto said.

Ignis resisted the urge to slam his head against the steering wheel. 'I meant for you to hotwire a vehicle for us.'

'Oh. That. Sure!' Prompto turned back and looked at the available cars in the service station car park. There was an attached restaurant and inn for travellers to rest, so there were plenty of unattended cars to choose from. 'We definitely still need a convertible. But that's one's blue and I don't like blue cars. I want a red one. Maybe with racing stripes?'

'Prom, just pick a damn car,' Gladiolus said. 'One with decent leg room. It's alright for you guys under six foot, but sitting around with your legs scrunched up all day isn't fun.'

'Alright, alright.' Prompto slipped out of the car, and discreetly made his way into the car park. He moved purposefully as if he had every right to be there. As if he had every right to open the door of the red car he had walked up to. It wasn't a convertible, but it would do. Especially as there was no blinking red light on the dash to indicate an alarm system. Prompto glanced about casually, then jammed a little piece of wire from his pocket into the key hole. Newer cars were harder to pick the locks of, but he'd had plenty of practice. The door clicked open and he quickly slipped into the driver's seat. He had the steering column apart in seconds and identified the wire bundle he needed. Working quickly he picked out the two battery wires, stripped insulation from them and twisted them together. He twisted them to the ignition wire and grinned as the dash board sprang to life. The radio was set high, though, and he scrambled to turn down the volume. Then he took a deep breath; the next part was the dangerous part. He found the starter wire and held it in a shaky hand, while the other hand held the other wires. Slowly, carefully, he touched the two together. The engine sparked to life, so he revved the engine to stop it from stalling, and then tucked the wires away safely in the steering column.

'He's in,' Gladiolus said from the Regalia, having been watching the blonde work. 'I never know whether to be impressed or to arrest him when he does stuff like that.' He was proud, though, the tone of his voice was clear.

'Today we'll count it as a blessing. Can you try and wake the prince?' Ignis asked.

'I can try,' Gladiolus said as he shook the sleeping man. 'Come on dark lord, time to get up.'

This time Noctis was a bit more amenable, having had plenty of sleep. He groaned and protested, but his eyes opened and he yawned as he took in his surroundings. Then he paused. 'Didn't I fall asleep in a tent?'

'This is what you get for being lazy,' Gladiolus said, clapping his shoulder. 'We're switching cars, come on.'

'We're…what? What's going on?' Noctis asked, but he got out of the car anyway, and carried the bundle of supplies that were handed to him. They transferred them quickly to the new red car and then all climbed in. Ignis and Prompto swapped seats.

'We still have the minor problem of having a celebrity in our backseat,' Gladiolus pointed out.

'Very true,' Ignis mused. 'We need a disguise. Something dignified. Something sensible. Something that will actually work.'

'I've got it,' Prompto said confidentially.

-

'Where are you headed?' the guard asked in a bored tone as they drove up to the checkpoint. The queues were horrendous, and they'd been crawling along a car length at a time for over an hour just to get to the booth.

'Capital city,' Ignis said easily, disguising his accent to that of a dialect from Altissa.

'Business?' the guard asked, tapping something on his computer.

'We're visiting friends,' Ignis kept a mental note of the lie. Their plates would have been scanned at the checkpoint, and would be again at the next. If his story was different, or if they didn't really go to the capital, they'd be flagged on the system and brought in for questioning. Niflheim's military was efficient and something Ignis really didn't want to get on the wrong side of.

More tapping, then the man glanced over at them, doing a mental head count. He typed three adult males. 'Proceed.'

'Thank you,' Ignis said.

'Nice accent,' said the blanket lump next to Gladiolus. 'Can I come out now? It's hot under here.'

'That was the riskiest plan ever devised,' Ignis muttered.

'I didn't hear you coming up with anything better,' Prompto said. 'And it worked, didn't it?'

'I'm honestly surprised that it did,' Ignis said.

'Relax, we're through,' Noctis said.

'The first check point, yes. There are four others before we make it to the capital. And then we have to get close to Emperor Idola, who is always heavily guarded. You can't hide under a blanket the whole way to his side.'

Noctis frowned. 'We're never going to make it.'

'Don't say that. Not after we've travelled all over the world. I'm not giving up at the last hurdle,' Prompto said.

Noctis shrugged. 'I didn't say we should give up, just that sneaking in isn't going to work.'

'Well it's the only viable plan we have,' Ignis said. 'Checkpoint coming up, you may wish to don your disguise again.'

Gladiolus grinned and tossed the blanket over the prince. 'Don't fall asleep under there.'

'No promises,' Noctis said, squashing himself as flat as possible as they slowed down to queue for the checkpoint booth.

The woman at the next booth was a bit sharper than the first had been, and wasn't satisfied with simply repeating the questions her colleague had asked. 'Where are you from?' she asked.

'Altissa,' Ignis replied in his Altissan accent.

'Dark clothes you're all wearing,' she pointed out. 'Her eyes trying to make out the symbols on their buttons

Ignis discreetly turned away from her slightly. 'A friend passed away, we'll be going to their funeral later this afternoon.'

She wasn't swayed. Her green eyes flicked over the three men. There was a suspicious light in her eyes, but it was clear she couldn't find any other reason to deny them access. Her finger hovered over the key to raise the barrier for them when the blankets next to the large man in the back seat moved. She leaned forward and was forming words on her lips when a man appeared from under them. And not just any man; the man whose picture was taped next to the computer screens of every checkpoint officer and state security worker in Niflheim. She'd found the elusive prince of Lucis.

'I…I'm going to have to have to ask you to stay in your car,' her hand slammed down on the emergency button as she pressed it several times, hoping that would alert the army faster. Any passing aircarrier or infantryman would be alerted to her signal.

Ignis was livid, and he turned in his seat. 'What are you doing?' he hissed.

'I told you; we were never going to sneak in. So why go to the trouble of trying when they'll take me right to him?' Noctis said.

'And what if they kill you on the spot?' Ignis asked.

'Then we consider my plan a failure,' Noctis said calmly, as the drone of hover units filled the air.

The aircarrier touched down on the road beyond the checkpoints, and a dozen soldiers in full body armour carrying rifles stormed out and surrounded the car. Noctis made a show of smiling and raising his hands in surrender. 'You got me. I'm all yours. These guys had nothing to do with it, I sneaked into their car when they stopped for petrol.'

Nobody seemed to care. The door was opened and he was roughly pulled out of his seat. Someone slammed their gun into the back of his legs and he went down hard on his knees. 'Silence.'

'Okay, being silent. Just take me to Idola and I promise to do whatever you say.'

'Orders were dead or alive,' the soldier said, aiming his rifle.

'Well lucky for you I'm alive, so we don't have to worry about that. Take me to Idola.'

The soldier looked up, as if seeking permission. Noctis dared to glance up and noticed the gun in his face. His heart skipped a beat and his pulse raced. Perhaps this had been a terrible idea? But then the gun lowered, and the soldier grabbed him by the arm and dragged him toward the hover unit.

'What about the others?' someone asked from behind him.

'Kill them,' someone else said.

Noctis's blood froze. 'No! No, don't…I'll-'

'You're not in a position to make demands,' the soldier restraining him pointed out.

Another voice spoke: 'But he has a point, don't kill them yet. The emperor might want to question them. Cuff 'em and bring 'em with us.'

Noctis breathed a sigh of relief, and turned his head in time to see his friends being rough handled out of the car too. He felt sorry for their treatment, but it was a million times better than being dead. He was shoved into a seat and his hands and ankles were cuffed to the arms so that he couldn't move. A few minutes later his friends were with him, all strapped in.

Ignis caught his gaze. 'Brilliant plan.'

'We're alive, aren't we?' Noctis pointed out.

'Yes, but for how long? I'm hoping there's a second part to your plan that involves escaping from these restraints.'

'Uh, yeah?' Noctis said uncertainly. In truth there wasn't. He was winging it. And he was certain that Ignis knew it.

The plan may have been risky, but the aircarrier took them right to the heart of the garrison state. Everything was grey and dreary, even the sky as they were ushered off the aircarrier and into a large square building. Handcuffs were placed around their wrists and there were a dozen guards surrounding them as they were brought through the secure facility to an empty room. A few minutes later a woman walked in, dressed in a sharp white uniform. Slowly she walked over to Noctis, and placed a cold finger under his chin to make him meet her hazel eyed gaze.

'So this is the dead Prince of Lucis. I thought he'd be taller.'

A guard snickered.

'My squadron was at the forefront of the attack on Lucis,' she continued. 'You may not remember me, but it was myself and my second in command that set off the first explosions where you were hiding. I was given accolades by Emperor Aldercapt himself for my part in your death. Imagine how bitter that victory was when I learned that you had survived.' Her lips quirked into a cold smile. 'Not for much longer.'

'What do we do with them, ma'am?' asked a guard.

'The prince is to come with me. The others can be locked up. Let them rot.'

Noctis breathed a silent sigh of relief. He cast a glance back at his friends, none of whom seemed as happy with this as he was. But he didn't care what happened to him; he just needed to know that his friends weren't going to be hurt because of his actions. Once he was finished with Idola they'd be free to go. Because Noctis had every intention of taking Niflheim down; he'd burn it to the ground just like they'd done to Lucis.

The woman's grip on his arm was like iron as she marched him through the facility. He was locked up in a cell of his own on the ground floor, then kept waiting for hours. He had no watch, and there was no window to see the sky with, so every minute felt like an eternity. Noctis found himself pacing, and worrying that somebody might take the law into their own hands and hurt his friends after all. Or Idola might get wind they were here and order their death.

The door opened, and the woman reappeared. 'Hands where I can see them.'

He held out his bound hands.

'Good. Follow me. Nothing funny; I know you have that wicked magic at your disposal and I assure you there are a dozen guards here that will tear you to pieces if you start to glow.'

Noctis assumed he was to be interrogated, so was surprised when he was led out of the facility and shoved into a waiting car. He cast a nervous glance back at the facility as it disappeared around a corner, and prayed that his friends would be alright. He could almost hear Prompto's pained voice insisting that he was too pretty for prison, and that gave him a little strength. Even if they weren't physically with him, his friends were always there.

The drive was in silence. A beefy soldier sat either side of him, squashing him in tightly so that any chance of escape was impossible. Not that Noctis wanted to escape; the whole point was that he wanted to see Idola. No - that he wanted to _kill_ Idola.

The car drove up the long driveway to the imperial buildings, where Idola kept his council. It was nothing like as grand as the palace of Lucis, and Noctis felt a pang of longing for his old home. The utilitarian square grey building with the huge flags of Niflheim just fuelled his anger. When the car drove up to the entrance he was marched inside, and all eyes were on him. He expected to be taken straight to Idola, but instead he found himself in a small office, sat down on a chair beside a huge oak table. The two guards from the car flagged either side of him, and the woman that wanted to kill him stood by the door. And then they all waited.

'This is getting really boring,' Noctis said finally. 'I've come a long way to see Idola, he could at least hurry his ass up.'

One of the guards smacked the back of his head hard enough that his teeth knocked together.

The woman spoke. 'You're not speaking with the emperor, he is far too busy for such trivial matters as a ghost from the dead. His second in command will receive you, and extract any useful information. Then you will be put to death.'

Noctis groaned. 'So is Idola actually here even?'

'That is classified,' she said.

'Fantastic,' Noctis muttered, and tugged at the cuffs on his wrists. They were solid. His plan had gone to hell, he wasn't even going to see the right person. Frantically he tried to think of a way out of the situation when the door opened and a slimly old man crept in. Noctis recognised him as one of the people Idola always kept by his side. Suddenly the plan didn't seem terrible; Noctis could kill him too. Anyone that had been at that damn peace treaty signing was fair game in his mind; they had all played a part in the destruction of Lucis, the war that had killed so many innocent people, and the death of his father. They all had to pay. So Noctis sat calmly while he waited for the old man to take his seat behind the desk.

'Noctis Lucis Caelum,' the man said, regarding him with watery grey eyes.

'Sup?' Noctis asked.

The man chuckled. 'Yes, they warned me you were unique. Although not very smart, trying to sneak into Niflheim. Or by broadcasting your survival. If it had been me I'd have relished the chance to have been counted as dead, then changed my name and lived out my life in a peaceful country. By advertising your survival we've had to go to great lengths to track you down.'

'Yeah and you didn't do a very good job. I had to come to you,' Noctis pointed out.

The elder man's smile slipped. 'You play a very dangerous game, your highness. Is that still accurate? Does Lucis still technically exist?' he lifted his gaze to the woman by the door.

She nodded once. 'For now. Niflheim will assimilate it into the new empire shortly, after the ceremony.'

'Ah yes. The ceremony,' the man said, turning back to Noctis. 'So good of you to come for that.'

'Wouldn't miss it for the world,' Noctis said. 'Just to be clear, which ceremony are we talking about?'

'The revival of Niflheim's crystal, of course,' the man said, spreading his bony fingers wide in an exaggerated gesture. 'Niflheim has been working on the crystal we borrowed from your kingdom, and we have found a way to use it to power our own. With its own crystal back Niflheim will be unstoppable.'

Noctis felt his heart drop like a stone. That ceremony had to be stopped. But how?

'With the power of the crystal behind us Niflheim will create a new world order. Peace will reign over our world once again, and a new empire will be born, with Emperor Idola Aldercapt as our leader. He will deliver us from the darkness that has hung over us for too long. Lucis's reign is over, your highness, and unfortunately there's no place for a prince of nothing in the new world. You understand that such sacrifices are necessary, for the greater good.'

'I wouldn't want to live in a world where Idola ruled anyway,' Noctis said.

'Then this is a very fortunate decision for us all.' He clicked his fingers and glanced over to the woman by the door. 'Executed him. He…no, wait.'

Noctis's head snapped up, and he found himself staring into those grey eyes again. He didn't like the smirk on the old man's face.

'Perhaps you will attend the ceremony. What greater symbol than for the emperor to put you to death as the new world is created? Yes. Yes, I like that. Take him to a cell, but I wanted him heavily guarded. The Caelum family are tricky bastards, I don't want him slipping away. The ceremony is this evening so we don't have to hold him long.'

He was being dragged again before he knew. Each of the muscled guards had taken an arm each and practically lifted him off the ground while they marched him through the sterile grey corridors. Every corner they turned Noctis hoped to see Idola. If the old man was there he was sure he'd find it within himself to break free of the handcuffs and fight his way out, but as it was as much as he struggled there was no way he was getting free.

A door was opened and he was shoved into the room. By the time he turned around to try and escape the door was slammed in his face. He kicked the door for good measure, but nobody said anything from the other side. With a huff Noctis surveyed his room; a small bed bolted to the wall. A lavatory on one wall. And that was it. Fantastic. Oh well, at least he was going to die tonight. He sank onto the uncomfortable bed and stared up at the grey ceiling. He wondered how his friends were doing. His chest tightened as he thought of them, and he hoped they were going to be okay. They'd been through so much on this stupid journey, all because of one madman's thirst for power. So many people had died…Noctis closed his eyes and tried to block out the golden light of the dead. He didn't need to see them right now. He knew they were there. And he would avenge those killed by this senseless war. Tonight he would kill Idola, even if it meant his own death too. That was a price he was willing to pay to keep safe the people he cared about.

As tired as he was sleep came easily, and it took hammering at the door loud enough to make the hinges shake to wake him. He groaned and rolled over, intending to ignore the deafening noise, when he remembered where he was and what he needed to do. Suddenly he was very awake. And not alone in the room. He'd seen the goddess of death once before, outside of the oil paintings and sculptures, but he was always taken aback by her beauty.

_It is time,_ she said, her voice silky and smooth, but sounding as if it were spoken directly into his head. Her lips never moved.

'Time for what?' Noctis asked, sitting up on the bed so his feet dangled in the air.

_The final sacrifice. The Caelum family has always protected Lucis's crystal, now it is your turn. You will save it, and save Lucis, and be forever marked down in history as the hero that stopped the greatest war this world has ever known._

'How? How do I do it? How do I stop Idola?'

_When the time comes you will know. And always remember that what I do, I do for our kingdom. For Lucis. For the people we are sworn to protect._

'I don't understand,' Noctis said, but the banging on the door was getting louder. 'Wait a minute-'

_There's no need to be afraid. You'll save them all._

And then she was gone. And the door was open. A guard looked at him as if he were a piece of dirt on his boot, and stormed over to the bed. 'Get up, it's time.'

_I'll save them all,_ Noctis thought, Etro's words ringing in his head as he was dragged down the corridor. He found that strangely reassuring, and hoped that "all" included his friends. It would be his gift to them. He felt calm.

The windows he passed showed that night had fallen, and the buzz of activity was a stark contrast to how quiet it had been when he had first been brought there. They were heading toward the heart of the huge building complex, and when they came to a huge courtyard Noctis couldn't help but be awed. Not at the volume of people there to watch, but at the two crystals sat side by side. They towered above everyone, one glowing with life, another dark and cold. Noctis felt his body reacting to being so close to his crystal again, felt the magic swimming through his veins and giving him strength. He just hoped it would be enough, and that Etro's faith in his wasn't misplaced.

People gasped as he was brought through the crowds toward a stage that had been set up by the crystals. There was a high backed chair, and an elder man with a sick smirk on his lips watchied him as he was dragged by the arms and thrown at the feet of the throne. Someone slammed a hand onto his back to keep him bowed.

Idola leaned forward in his seat. 'Caelum. Such a dirty name, one that I will erase once and for all tonight. There's no place for your family anymore.'

'If I have to die then I'm taking you with me,' Noctis spat out, struggling to sit up but unable to.

Idola chuckled. 'I knew that you'd be difficult, and that your presence here could be either a magnificent symbol for me, or else a spectacular disaster. So I've taken the liberty of acquiring some collateral to ensure your cooperation. Please, allow the prince to sit up, it's so pathetic seeing him on his knees like this.'

Noctis was finally let up, and he followed Idola's gaze. The crystal - Lucis's crystal - was glowing brightly. And in the light it cast he saw his three friends being held at gun point. His breath caught in his throat, and suddenly everything fell to pieces. He couldn't lift a finger to Idola without sacrificing his friends. Etro's words repeated in his mind: _the final sacrifice_. She wanted him to let them die.

'There we go,' Idola said, watching him carefully. 'Much more obedient.'

There were murmurings in the crowd, so Idola stood from his seat and moved closer to the microphone on the centre of the stage. He touched a gnarled old hand to Noctis's shoulder as he passed, gripping tightly. Noctis just stayed where he was, staring out into the dark of the night, and the gold of the spirits of the dead. He tried to picture his friends among them. Was he cursed to see their faces after they died? What would they say to him? Would they be angry spirits, vengeful ones that took out their pain on him for letting them die? Noctis hoped so. It would hurt more if they forgave him for what he was going to do. Because no matter what the price Idola had to die tonight.

'Ladies and gentleman, I welcome you,' Idola was saying.

Noctis blocked it all out. The old man was crazy, talking about Niflheim's inevitable rise to power once their crystal was restored. And how Idola was going to destroy the Lucian crystal as a symbol of defiance, after he had destroyed the Lucian prince and his supporters. Slowly Noctis turned his head to the crystal, pulsing with power that was just begging for him to reach out and take it. And there in its bright shadow was his friends, all watching him. They were too far away for him to make out their faces properly in the poor light of the night, but he knew them well enough to imagine their expressions.

Someone grabbed his arm and dragged him to his feet, then dumped him down again. Idola had a small gun in his hand; the same gun he had drawn on Noctis's father, he realised. Somehow that angered him further, that he was staring down the barrel of the instrument that had taken his father's life.

'Any last words, _prince?_ ' Idola asked, smirking as he pronounced the title.

'You can try a million times, but Etro will never let you use the crystal's power. She sent me to stop you, and I'm not going to let her down now. A world ruled by you would be a disaster for everyone.'

Idola laughed. 'Deep words. I almost feel threatened. But I happen to know from experience that Caelums aren't immortal to bullet wounds to the head. Goodbye, prince.'

'Goodbye, Idola,' Noctis said, and closed his eyes, establishing the connection to the crystal. Being so close amplified his powers, and the rush of magic felt as if it was tearing his body apart. The surge allowed him to flip out of the way of the bullet before Idola had even finished pressing the trigger, then he materialised a sword and slashed down one of the guards. Another rushed him and he somersaulted over the man, then slammed a heavy sword down to silence the guard. Allowing that sword to dematerialise Noctis spun around, just in time to crouch down low to avoid another of Idola's bullets.

'Guards!' Idola cried angrily, aiming again and shooting only air. 'Little maggot, I will _end_ you. Tell them to shoot his friends, that'll distract him.'

Noctis caught the threat, and glanced over to where someone was pushing through the crowds to the crystal. With a slash of his sword Noctis brought down another guard, then threw his sword at Niflheim's dead crystal and warped to it.

'Noct!' Prompto said, but there was no time for a reunion. The guards over by the crystal had figured out they were supposed to shoot and were all taking aim. No time to fight them; Noctis concentrated hard and a wall of phantom swords appeared, deflecting the bullets and shielding his friends.

'Love that move,' Gladiolus said.

'Your highness, leave us. Take down Idola, that's the reason we're here,' Ignis said.

'I'm not leaving you guys,' Noctis insisted, generating more swords as more bullets rained down on them. But he couldn't win if he stayed defensive. He needed to act.

_The final sacrifice_ , Etro's voice rang in his ears. With a shaky intake of breath, Noctis looked at his friends. They were on their knees, cuffed at the wrists and unable to use and conjured weapons or magic. They were sitting targets. Perfect sacrifices; he had to leave the imperial army to kill them while he was free to kill Idola. It made sense. So why the hell wasn't he doing it? Why didn't he leave them busy with the other men, and warp back to Idola, who currently had no guards by him? The old man was watching him from the stage, looking smug and self assured in his absolute victory.

_The final sacrifice_.

'The final sacrifice,' Noctis muttered, as bullets slammed into his swords, picking them off one by one. He materialised more to shield his friends. He needed to keep them safe for a moment.

'What are you doing?' Ignis asked, twisting round as far as he could and trying to watch Noctis.

'I've got a plan,' Noctis said, and threw his sword into Niflheim's crystal again, near the bottom. He closed his arms and drew magic from Lucis's crystal, feeling the magic build within him. The tingle of electricity in his body made the hairs on his arms stand on end, but he drew more and more, using himself as a conduit, until electricity buzzed around his skin. Then he pushed the magic out toward the sword. It slammed hard, and the huge sword was shoved hard into the crystal. The electricity slammed into the rock too, and shattered the base. All it took was the momentum of the spell to have it toppling over, and the crowds started screaming and trying to push each other out of the way as the shadow of the dead crystal loomed over them. But the crowds were packed too tightly; and the crystal was on a collision course. It landed with a huge crunch, on the stage and surrounding area.

In the confusion the soldiers had stopped shooting. Some had gone to Idola's aid and were lying crushed beneath the crystal. More were stood still in shock, unsure what to make of the scene.

Gladiolus body slammed a gawping soldier and stole keys for the cuffs, unlocking Prompto and Ignis, then allowing his own to be taken off. The three of them hurried over to where Noctis was on his knees, but none of them could get close. The prince was screaming in pain as the magic tore through his body; he'd never used so much at once, it was pulling him apart.

Noctis coughed, and there was the metallic taste of blood his lips. The power was too much for his body to handle. No human should be able to harness the power of the gods like this. He looked up as a gold light appeared before him; Etro was smiling.

_The final sacrifice. You saved them all._

Noctis coughed again, then collapsed on the ground, shivering violently as the magic destroyed his body. His blurred vision caught sight of his friends, and the horror on their faces as they watched him dying. He tried to smile for them, but he was just in too much pain.

_Your sacrifice was pure, and you have fulfilled your focus. You have done well, Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum. You are not destined to die here today. Your sleep can begin now. Your eternal reward._

Eternal reward? Noctis had no idea what that was but right now a bullet through the skull would be brilliant. He was in so much pain as his organs failed, as blood filled his lungs, as his brain shut down. A golden light consumed him, and suddenly he felt calmer. His body stopped shaking and he actually felt at peace.

His friends came running over and someone pulled him into their lap. Ignis; the man was calling his name, shaking him gently. Prompto held his hand, and there were tears in his bright blue eyes. Gladiolus was there too, supporting his head and yelling something. Noctis couldn't hear the words, but he was able to close his eyes with a smile. They were alive. They were going to live.

'Live. For me,' he whispered to them, as he felt his body falling into the darkness.

'Don't go! You can leave us,' Prompto choked out. 'You can’t die, Noct, we've won! We've got the crystal back, we've done it. You can't…you can't…'

'Dammit. This wasn't the plan,' Gladiolus said. 'You're not supposed to leave us. Who's going to be our king now? Who's going to spar with me? Who's…Noct, open your eyes. _Please_ Noct.'

Ignis was silent. Perfectly silent, but when a warm tear fell on his cheek Noctis knew it was his. 'Sleep well, my prince,' Ignis said finally.

'Thank you. For everything,' Noctis whispered, and the last thing he remembered was the warmth of his friends holding him as he slipped away peacefully. And in that moment he knew that he was loved. And that was the greatest reward of all.

-

Two weeks later the crystal was back in its rightful place, at the heart of Insomnia. Repairs had begun in the capital city, and around the kingdom of Lucis. And the peace treaty had finally been signed; a new, revised edition with the seal of every country, including that of the newly elected emperor of Niflheim. The garrison state had been humbled by its intention to take over the world, and was currently undergoing an extensive reshuffling of government.

Ignis found himself as the head advisor of Lucis, and had been in charge of drawing up the plans. It had been a relief; something to occupy his mind with after the events. He'd worked from the crack of dawn long into the night every day, and there were dark circles under his eyes as he walked across the dais in the audience chamber.

Gladiolus and Prompto were standing either side of the single throne, and Cor was further to the back, but caught his gaze and nodded. Taking a deep breath Ignis sat in the throne, feeling the weight of hundreds of kings before him. True his role was temporary until a new king was chosen, but for now the responsibility of a nation rested on his shoulders. He suddenly had a new respect for Noctis, who had been thrown into the role during a horrifically stressful time. His friend had been so strong. Blinking back tears he adjusted his glasses, and stared into the camera in front of him. A woman to the right counted down from five, and he cleared his throat.

'Good evening. I am Ignis Stupeo Scientia, head advisor for the kingdom of Lucis, and interim regent. Firstly I would like to extend my heartfelt sympathies to those that lost their lives in the recent war, and to their loved ones in this dark and unsettling time. My apologies for the lateness of an official announcement, but tense negotiations have been underway and I wanted concrete answers for you all before I made a public statement.'

He shifted slightly in his seat, and took a deep breath. He had memorised the speech, but the words didn't come easily. 'His majesty King Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII was killed during the peace treaty signing that broke down, and I can now confirm that his sole heir, Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, is sadly also no longer with us. The prince fought bravely to retrieve the crystal and end the war, and paid the ultimate price to achieve a peace that will save tens of thousands of lives. In the coming weeks a new royal family will be chosen. I thank you all for your patience during this difficult time.'

He bowed his head slightly, and waited for the red recording light to vanish before he allowed his face to show emotion. A hand gripped his shoulder, and he looked up at Gladiolus whose amber eyes shone with tears. 'You did him proud.'

Prompto couldn't speak, but he slipped his hand into Ignis's and squeezed it tightly. His hand trembled.

'Shall we …go and see him?' Ignis asked softly. 'It seems the right thing to do.'

The three took leave of the audience chamber, and made a slow procession through the palace to the inner courtyard. Repair work was still ongoing, but the area by the crystal had been given priority. It was unthinkable that the crystal should be stolen again.

The room was guarded but the guards simply nodded the three through. In the dark of the evening the crystal glowed a bright silver, bathing the courtyard in pale light. And there, underneath it's glow, was a narrow bed where the sleeping prince lay. They knelt by the bed, and watched him sadly. Though Noctis had fallen into a coma twice before, nobody was in any doubt this was his last. His chest no longer rose and fell, his vital signs were nonexistent. He was by all accounts dead, but he looked as if he was simply sleeping. He was held in a perfect crystal stasis, an eternal sleep.

'If we hadn't been held hostage,' Prompto said, 'would he have found another way?'

'Don’t do that,' Ignis said, swallowing back the lump in his throat. 'Don't think things like that. What he did, he did for love. The same way we were willing to sacrifice ourselves for him, he gave his life for us. We can't take that back, we just have to accept that he loved us enough to save us. That's a gift we can never repay.'

'We repay it by carrying on his legacy,' Gladiolus said, his voice thick with emotion. 'We restore Lucis to what it was, and we support the new royal family. And we do it all in his honour.'

'And we do as he asked,' Prompto said, smiling sadly and reaching for Noctis's cold, lifeless hand. 'We live. For him.'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I did say that it would be evil! I'm thinking more along the lines of the l'cie focus sleep here, if that makes it any easier to handle. Sorry. ^^;
> 
> I'm going to go and write something fluffy now. ;_:

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! ^_^


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